A future castle
by Laina Inverse
Summary: Marie used to be normal. Sure, she talked with someone that was only a legend, but beyond that, she was ordinary. Then, the bombs began to fall, and her life went from ordinary, to extraordinary
1. Prologue

Prologue

This is my story, and I will admit there's nothing much ordinary in it. It is a story of magic, that much is true. It's not the garden variety though, and I am not exactly your garden variety girl.

Everyone has some innate talent, and an instinctive ability to use the power they had been born with. Some have more power than others, or they have it trained up. It's not often anymore, because science has replaced the wonders of magic

I am not a witch, wizard, or sorcerer. I am a normal human girl, who has been given eternity, all because of one simple day.

We didn't know that the war had started. Our town was isolated enough, that although we were up to speed on the technology of our century, we rarely cared about news of the outside.

Most of the people preferred to think that the outside didn't exist, but not me. I wanted to be a musician, a star. For that, I was almost constantly in touch with the "outside," as everyone called it. I needed to know how much people bought, and sold in the music corporations, and I needed to know how to get in touch with the big leaders of said corps.

My few friends, for I was a fairly solitary girl, had each gotten copies of my demo CD's and were showing them around, I was doing the same, but less obviously, offering a listen to those who asked what I wanted to do with my life.

I had run into the Wizard Pendragon only once before, when I had been down on my luck. Every parent and child from here to Haven believed this man to be cruel and petty, eating the hearts of beautiful young women to maintain his longevity.

While he appeared to be physically young, I had the feeling that inside he was very old, and very sad, and since misery loved company, I struck up a conversation with the moping wizard. Surprisingly enough, a strange sort of friendship bloomed.

For a while, we both pulled each other out of our ruts, he giving musical insight, and I provided a sympathetic shoulder for a man who had lived for too long by himself. Whenever we saw the other on the street, we usually stopped for a while, and started talking.

Though I didn't know it at first, it was that friendship that saved my life on the day the bombs began to fall.


	2. Chapter 1

Part 1

The day was an ordinary summer day, in my twenty-second year of life. I had just gotten off of work, and was walking towards the house that I shared with my mother, anticipating dinner, and our conversation about idiotic people at work.

The breeze was cool, and smelled of thunder and rain, which meant a storm was coming, and unlike the people who drove, I had no shelter from the swiftly approaching storm.

However, the storm was to be the least of my worries. Hearing a low roar, I stopped in my tracks, and looked up. Jets, black as night, were flying overhead, and curious, I watched them. It wasn't often that my town, the small town of Golden, saw anything like the new tech that was emerging on a daily basis, so it was no wonder that cars stopped on the road, and heads craned out their windows. At least until we saw the black oblong shapes dropping by the hundreds from the bellies and wings of the jets.

Cars began screeching as they sped away faster than was allowed, and narrowly swerved around the pedestrians who hadn't quite figured out what had happened. I was rooted to the spot, though my body screamed at me to run. The whistling of the bombs drew nearer, and a face, so dear to me that I wanted to cry, flashed through my mind.

Barely seconds before the bombs impacted my tiny town, strong arms swept me up, lifting me high above the destruction. I could not find the voice to scream, as thousands did that day. All I could do was cling to my rescuer, and weep bitter tears.

We landed as though feather light, and in my sorrow, I didn't feel the transformation from feathers and wings to a strong, if lean and familiar body. The voice of my rescuer was male, warm, and soothing. As if from a distance, I realized I was safe, and dropped into an exhausted and fitful sleep.

The first thing my sleepy brain registered when I woke up, was warm breath mingling with my own, a strong, slim arm draped over my waist, and a soft bed under my body. My eyes snapped open, and barely registered the fact that it was Howl, only the fact that I was in the same bed as a male.

I stifled my squeak of surprise, and thrust myself backwards, landing with a hard thump on the floor. He barely registered my movement, simply rolling onto his other side, pulling the blanket with him.

Standing, I rubbed my back, checked myself over to make certain that I was still dressed decently, and carefully crept out of the room, and down a set of wooden stairs, examining my surroundings with an interest that slowly dulled to apathy as my memory of the previous day returned.

The main thing that attracted my attention was the fire on the hearth, which was nearly buried by ashes. I added a couple of logs to the dimming fire, and sat in the chair in front of it. When the fire grew, I didn't feel the unease I normally did when faced with the bright orange and yellow flames, only a mild sense of curiosity, and a light tingling at the base of my neck.

"A fire demon," I said matter-of-factly, losing a bit of my apathy. "Which must mean that I am in Howl's castle."

The fire blinked at me in surprise, and then nodded.

"How did you know?" he, for the voice of the demon was masculine, asked. "Hardly anyone knows that Howl exists as anything but a story."

"Not from my home," I replied. "Golden folks often used tales of a cruel Howl to make their children behave on a rainy or otherwise bad day.

"And I know, because I remember what he told me four years ago. You're.. Calcifer, right?"

"Oh." Calcifer, for her could be no other, nodded. "He told me about the musician girl who helped him out of his funk. What's your name though? He never told me that."

"Marie," I murmured my name softly. "Marie Entounbur. Or, if you want my stage name, Miakoda Silvermoon "

I fell silent, staring vaguely off into space, a painful mantra running through my head, as I heard Howl coming down the stairs.

'One death is a tragedy, one hundred is a statistic.'


	3. Chapter 2

Part 2

For weeks on end, I was lost in self-pity, sorrow, and pain, only eating if Howl kept an eye on me. Otherwise, I fed whatever he gave me, excluding liquids to Calcifer. Since Howl was often gone, I spent my time either holed up in the space under the stairs, which was partitioned off into a room, or sitting in front of Calcifer, and feeding him logs when he asked for them.

Since I spent so much time with Calcifer, he often held one-sided conversations with me, telling me more about Howl, this castle, and himself than I had ever heard from my sandy haired friend. Every so often, I was roused enough to ask a few questions, but that was rare enough, that Calcifer often asked them for me.

It was music that finally pulled me out of my funk. Music and dancing, and a festival.

It was an ordinary morning, Howl leaving shortly after breakfast through the door, which Calcifer told me lead to quite a few different places, depending on the color of the wheel that Howl or anyone else, turned it to.

"I wonder why he's going to Port Haven?" he grumbled. "It's always cold and wet there, and he returns smelling like rotten fish most of the time."

I nodded duly, and sat in the chair, not really listening to anything, until I heard a snatch of Celtic-styled music. My head snapped upright, and I looked out towards the window, surprising both Calcifer, and myself.

"What's that music from?" I asked, in a voice hoarse from disuse, but still recognizably mine. "I mean, where's it coming from?"

Calcifer leaned around the hearth, to peer at the calendar hanging nearby, then sighed in disgust.

"It's from Kingsburry, he muttered. "It's the time for their annual Harvest festival, that lasts a week or more. None of us will be getting much sleep for a.. Hey, where are you going?"

"Which color is Kingsburry?" I wanted to know. "Is it the red one?"

Without waiting for a reply, I turned the knob above the door, until red shone through the hole, and opened the door. As I stepped through it, curiosity banishing my apathy, a change flowed over me.

Where I had been dirty, and unwashed, to the point of terror in my book, I was clean, and neatly presented. My jean skirt had been traded for another, ankle-length, skirt looking like cotton with the feel of silk, in a pale pink, with flowers embroidered in red, purple, and yellow. The vest, which was more like a corset to me, was a dark blue, with light blue embroidery, and tied in front with grey ribbons. The shirt was the most familiar to me.

It was made of light cotton, a pale lilac color, with flowers embroidered along the

neckline. I felt sad, for the shirt had been my mothers.

In place of my sandals, were sturdy tan colored boots, that looked new, but felt well worn and comfortable.

My waist-length, recently bleached ultra blond hair was bound back in a sleek straight mass, which is probably what surprised me the most. My hair was naturally curly and unruly, so for it to lie benign and straight was a miracle in itself. Another strange thing was that my hair was also woven with flowers, something I had always regarded as flippant, and far too feminine for my tastes. The moment I thought that, the flowers all vanished, leaving only my blond hair shining in the sunlight.

As if in a daze, I followed the sound of the music, until it led me to a central square, that many people were using for dancing. A little shyly, I joined in, soon losing myself to the spell of the music, and the rhythm of the dancers.

I didn't realize exactly how much time had passed, until the group of players were replaced with another, who started off by playing slow songs. I vacated to the side of the square, where tables and chairs were set out for tired dancers, musicians, and other people, and sank down, just then realizing how shaky my legs were, and how badly I was gasping for breath.

Okay,' I mused, stretching out my legs. So maybe I overdid it.'

I leaned my head back, trying to slow my breathing, and looked up at the blue,

semi-cloudless sky overhead. It reminded me of Howl's eyes, and Calcifer's flames, and the blue-bells that would never bloom during a Golden spring again.

"You're a pretty good dancer," a male voice stated.

I jumped, and sat upright, a little embarrassed to be caught off guard so easily.

"Ah," I stammered, "Th-thank you. That's very kind of you to say so."

He offered me a glass of what appeared to be lemonade, which I took cautiously, and sipped at, until I could discern whether there was anything else in it.

"My name is Ray. Raymond Copper, actually, but I prefer Ray."

He had sharp green eyes, set under reddish-orange hair, that reminded me of one of my friends back at home, pain-in-the-butt Draco, fraternal twin to one of my best girlfriends, Flame.

"I'm Miakoda Silvermoon. It's nice to meet you sir."

I had been raised to be polite, even when I felt odd, and this was no exception. Though why my stage name instead of my real name, I could offer no explanation other than my unease. He waved off the sir, a frown creasing his features.

"Please, just Ray," he protested. "Mia, may I call you that, you seem to be here by

yourself. Would you like to wander the festival grounds with me?"

I hesitated, unsure, then decided against it. My unease flared up as he looked at me expectantly, as though I would jump up eagerly.

"I don't feel up to wandering around right now, I'm waiting for a friend. Also, it's the music that's attracting me, not the other things there might be to buy."

My voice was crisp, but a slight smile took most of the sting out of the refusal. Raymond seemed to take this as a sign that I was just being coy, or something, for he promptly asked me to dance instead. Thankfully, it was about then that Howl showed up.

"Here you are! I've been looking all over for you."

His voice was mildly scolding, and I had the grace to look a bit ashamed. I scuffed my foot in the dirt, and glanced up at him, smiling faintly.

"Sorry," I replied, chagrined. "But I couldn't wait! The music grabbed me and pulled me in!"

Howl sat down between myself and Raymond, providing a comforting buffer, as I took another sip of the lemonade, and watched the slow dancers moving with a grace I envied, only paying scant attention to the conversation that was taking place next to me, and when I looked back at the two men, there seemed to be a tension in the air, as they both returned my glance.

I blinked, and tilted my head curiously.

"Did I miss something?" I asked. "You both look so serious on such a bright and fun day!"

I smiled shyly at both of them, trying to coax a return smile from either. Howl returned my smile easily, Raymond a bit more grudgingly. Howl stood up, brushed some of his blond hair out of his eyes, and offered me his hand.

"Care to dance?" he asked.

I felt suddenly very nervous, and shook my head.

"It's nothing personal," I said, noting the hurt in his blue eyes, "I just dance better alone."

And,' I admitted privately to myself, I don't know how to dance with a partner.'

Faster music started, and my feet began skipping in time to the music. A grin slipped onto my face, as I smoothed my skirt, and stood up, ready to mingle in the crowd again. To my surprise, both men also stood up, Raymond giving Howl a dark look. Howl ignored him, and turned to look at me. I hesitated, tilting my head slightly in question.

"I'm going to go and find a drink," my blue-eyed friend said. "I'll meet you back here, alright?"

Our eyes met, and I could see that he didn't want to leave me alone with Raymond. I gave him a small smile, and waved him off.

"I'll still be here when you get back," I promised. "I'm not really up to exploring right now."

Without waiting for a reply, for I had a feeling that my cheeks were turning scarlet, I joined the dancing crowd of people, and wove myself into intricate steps, feeling light and happy again.

When that set was over, many of the dancers drifted off, to do their shopping or

what-have-you, in the cooler air of the evening. I returned to my table, where Raymond was waiting with a smile that would have dazzled any other girl. I smiled slightly, and sat down.

"Why don't you and I go off and look at a few things," he said, trying to be persuasive. "You're friend. Howl, right? He won't mind."

"I told him I'd stay here, and I will," I stated, indignation creeping into my voice. "I promised that I would wait for him."

Raymond ran a hand through his shortly cropped hair, and sighed.

"But I want to talk only to you," he complained. "Not to him and then you."

I shrugged, recognizing a strange possessiveness that rose in Raymond's eyes. I shifted slightly, putting myself at the edge of my chair, in case I needed to bolt, and just out of arms reach.

"Well, I'm sorry for that," I conceded, "but I don't break promises unless there's no other choice, and besides, I need a chance to rest. I've been dancing since morning after all."

My tone was a touch scathing, mixed with a sense of good humor, and Raymond gave in, with ill-concealed irritation that I had out-maneuvered him. However, he didn't remain that patient for long, and when I saw his body tense, as if to lunge, I gave a wave over his shoulder, as though I had seen Howl.

Raymond's head snapped around, and I bolted from my chair, and down the street,

attempting to lose myself in the crowd. For once, I was glad that I was short, since I could worm my way through better, and I could see the exits faster.

My pell-mell run took me far away from the main parts of the festival, so when I felt as if my lungs were going to burst, I slowed to a walk, and looked around.

A chill ran up my spine, as I noted the run-down look of the buildings, and the nearness of a bar that seemed to be serving drinks, for any who wanted them. Turning, to try and retrace my steps, I nearly ran into a thug who had been standing behind me. I jumped back, and looked up.

He was a bit over six feet, built muscular, with tattoos on his body, and piercings in his ears. I took another two steps back as he grinned leeringly at me, revealing blackened and missing teeth. I gulped slightly.

"Well well, here's a pretty miss all lost, and looking for something," he drawled, as he looked me up and down. "Me an my boys will keep ya company, if yer good ta us."

Emerging from the shadows, more men surrounded me. I counted twelve, and started to wonder if maybe I'd gotten myself into a bit of trouble. Off-handedly, I wondered if the magic that made my outfit would be able to get me out of this mess, and loosely curled my right hand.

A small ball, that felt like metal, dropped into my palm, and I prayed that it was a smoke bomb.

"I'm sorry," I said frostily, drawing myself up to my full height of 5'1", "But I don't do morons."

And before the insult could register, I threw the ball onto the ground. Light and smoke burst forth, obscuring my position. I heard the scuffling feet of the thugs as the all got ready to jump, and ducked down into a tight somersault, making it so they hit each other, instead of me.

I rolled to the edge of my cloud, which was starting to disperse, picked myself up, and started running again.

By this time, my body was starting to feel all the effects of my inactivity, and was letting me know in very painful ways that I wasn't going to be able to run for very much longer

Fortunately, that's when I turned a corner, and nearly ran into Howl. He took one look at me, then without preamble, picked me up bridal-style, and propelled us both into the air above the city.

I squeaked, and buried my face in his shoulder. Heights and me simply don't mix. He chuckled, and we landed softly on a doorstep, where he set me on his feet and gave me an expectant look, before opening the door.

I followed, feeling sore and run into the ground, but with a sense of lightness that I hadn't had in a long time. Staggering up the stairs, I saw Calcifer's relieved look, before it changed to one of irritation.

"What've you been doing?" the fire-demon asked, noting the mussed and rumpled look. "Chasing barn animals?"

I laughed, and brushed off my skirt, which had turned back into the original jean skirt it had been, before making my way to sit in front of him.

"Oh, this and that," I replied airily, massaging my sore legs. "Mostly dancing, a bit of running, and having a lot of fun."

I heard Howl messing around in the kitchen, so with a slight groan for my poor abused legs, I got up out of my chair, and joined him, taking over the job of slicing vegetables.

"Sorry I wasn't where you expected me to be," I murmured softly. "But Mr.. Cooper? He wanted me to be his alone, and when he tried to get me, I took off."

Howl looked at me out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

"And," I continued, "I'm sorry I left this morning without saying anything. But. well.."

I stopped. I couldn't really say why I had gone out to dance in that festival, because I didn't really know myself. Only that the music had attracted me, and the dancing had left me feeling happy.

"It's nice to see you smile again," Howl said, as I tipped the vegetables into the pot that he would use for the stew. "And you dance wonderfully. Always alone?"

I blushed, and fiddled with my hair, which had gone back to being unruly and irritating.

"Well," I hesitated. "It's just that. no one ever taught me how to dance with anyone else. I was never a very popular person, so I had a tendency to avoid school dances, like they were the plague."

I smiled faintly, and followed Howl, to lean against Calcifer's hearth, while Howl and Calcifer argued about Calcifer bending his head so that Howl could cook. I had to admit that the feat was entertaining to watch, but when it became obvious that neither was going to acquiesce, I decided to step in.

"Please?" I asked. "Please Calcifer."

Then I bent low, and whispered, "I'll give you some of my bacon after breakfast.."

Without another argument, Calcifer did as he was told, to Howls amazement. I smiled faintly, secretively, and went to fetch the bowls and glasses, so that I could set the table, and Howl could watch the soup.

I didn't realize I was singing until Howl joined in, and I didn't know it was a familiar song, until even Calcifer started singing along. I could help but laugh at the way he turned the words into a comical parody, that had even Howl choking on his laughter.

"Well," Calcifer said, as Howl removed the soup, and I grabbed a ladle, "You do know how to smile and laugh like everyone else. I was beginning to think that you'd forgotten!"

I handed Howl the ladle, eyes dark, remembering sadness, and wondering if maybe being so happy would be an insult to those who had died. Howl rapped me gently on the head with a spoon.

"You've mourned enough," he stated gently. "Smile, please?"

The look on his face was enough of a distraction to convince me to smile again, but now I felt a small cloud over what had been unbridled happiness.

"So, would you like to go again tomorrow?" Howl asked, as I put my spoon in my mouth. "You looked like you were having fun, and there will be more places open tomorrow."

"More dancing?" I asked, lifting my head in excitement.

My body chose that moment to send twinges into my legs, and Howl smiled faintly

"How about day after tomorrow," he replied, amused. "You'll hardly be able to walk tomorrow, let alone dance."

He leaned in, and lowered his voice so that Calcifer couldn't hear.

"And, I'll teach you how to dance."

I blushed, and stuck out my tongue, to Calcifer's and Howl's amusement. Then, with a sigh, I nodded.

"Alright," I acquiesced, "The day after tomorrow I get to do more dancing. Tomorrow, if I can walk, I'll join you in exploring the festival. Now um."

I looked down at my empty bowl, feeling suddenly shy again.

"Is there a place where I can clean up?"

Calcifer grinned, but Howl silenced his comment with a slashing look.

"At the end of the hall upstairs, there's a spare bathroom," Howl said. "You should find everything you need up there."

"Thank you Howl," I smiled shyly. "Um. Calcifer, can I have some hot water?"

"Sure, it'll be ready when you get up there."

I stood up, and moved to take my dishes to the sink, but Howl stayed my hand.

"I'll get them," he said. "You're welcome to go ahead and clean up."

"Thanks. You two are the greatest."

I smiled, feeling relieved, and went upstairs. I passed by what I figured was Howl's bathroom, and his bedroom, to the end of the hall. When I opened the door, I walked into a bathroom that just screamed female. I assumed that it had belonged to Howl's first and only wife, a woman who had been named Sophie.

However, it looked modernized, as though Howl had gone to a modern store and had found things a young, modern woman would need. The bath was claw-footed, but well maintained, with a showerhead attached, and a drain built into the floor, and it was larger than I expected.

I grabbed what I needed from the medicine cabinet and the shelves, and proceeded to clean up. When I was done, I just stood under the showerhead, and let the water flow over me, as I finally found the shelter to cry.

I turned off the water, and scrubbed at my face, trying to hide the red rims around my eyes, before turning towards where my clothes had been folded and resting. I hadn't really wanted to put dirty clothes on a clean body, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice.

So, when I found a clean nightgown in place of my old clothes, I looked towards the door, and frowned.

"I thought I locked the door." I mused, going to check.

It was still locked, but the nightgown was where my clothes had been, and there was no sign of my old things. I shrugged, and decided not to think about it, since my mind had finally caught up with the rest of me.

The hot water had relaxed me, so it was hard enough to walk in a straight line, and when I opened the door, I almost fell down. Fortunately, Howl was just emerging from his bedroom, and he helped me down to my hideaway under the stairs.

"G'night Howl," I yawned. "See you in th morning."

I pulled my blanket up to my shoulders, and started to drift, however I managed to stay awake long enough to hear a conversation between Howl and Calcifer.

"So, what happened?" Howl asked. "What brought her out of that dark cavern, when nothing else we could do worked?"

"Music," Calcifer replied. "That silly festival music that keeps me awake for the week of the festival. I don't know why it did, but she was up and out before I managed to finish my sentence. It was weird!"

"I saw her dancing," Howl said softly. "I've never seen her so animated. or so beautiful."

"Sounds like you might be falling for her."

There was such a long silence, that I almost thought Howl would never answer. When he did it was so quiet I almost missed it.

"I told you a little about her four years ago," He began. "I think even then I wanted to love her. Since Sophie made me promise to move on, even though I didn't really want to, I've been trying to. Everyone is so afraid of a legend that is no longer true that no one ever wanted to even try and talk to me.

"She was the first. I don't know if maybe she was so depressed that she didn't care about death, or if she just wanted to talk, but something about her made me feel almost like I was talking to Sophie again. And yet, at the same time, I know she's not Sophie, and I'm glad she's not. If she was, then I probably wouldn't care for her as much as I do."

I was awake now, and peering out of a crack in my curtain. If I'd had the courage I would have walked over there, and held him, desperately wanting to wipe the sad look off of what I could see of his face. Since I didn't, I considered myself a coward, I could only watch helplessly, as he pulled himself together, and ran a hand through his shoulder-long hair.

"Well, tomorrow, she should be stiff, so that'll limit her activities," Calcifer said as a comfort. "You're going to take her around the shops, aren't you?"

I laid back down in my makeshift bed, and pulled the blanket back up, content in now in just listening.

"Yeah," I could almost see Howl nod. "She might find something she likes. I hope she does. And I hope we don't run into that ...Cooper man. If we do I don't think the result will be very good."

I rolled onto my side, facing the wall, and started to drift, missing the rest of the

conversation. I was just barely awake when Howl pulled back the curtain, and stared at me for a long moment. Then, just as I fell asleep, I felt him kiss my cheek, and run a hand through my hair.


	4. Chapter 3

Part 3

When I woke up the next morning, true to form, I could barely move. I rolled my way out of bed, and staggered to my feet, starting to curse my over-exuberance of the day before.

Howl, who was up, making breakfast and singing along with Calcifer about saucepans and other things, smile at me. I rolled my eyes, but returned the smile, and stretched out my back.

"Next time I want to dance like that after being still for so long, please stop me," I sighed, limping up to the table.

Howl and Calcifer laughed as I slid into my seat, and I raised an eyebrow at them.

"What?" I asked. "What has out you both in such chipper moods."

"I think," Howl said, eyes twinkling, "that we are going to start recording firsts since you came into the castle. After all, this is the first time you've said morning words, even if they're a bit grumpy."

I laid my head on the table, and muttered, "Just gimme tea," in a pleading tone. Howl set a mug next to my hand, which I blinked at, then drained in under a minute.

"Better?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"Smart ass," I retorted.

I wrinkled my nose at him, and leaned back as he slid a plate in front of me, before digging into breakfast.

I made sure to slip Calcifer three of my bacon strips, as thanks for bending last night so that Howl could cook supper, and I was pretty sure that Howl knew, but since he didn't say anything, I decided to ignore it.

As I washed up the dishes, and Howl cleaned up in his bathroom, Calcifer thanked me for the bacon, and commented on how long Howl usually takes.

"I don't mind," I said, drying my hands and setting the plate on the rack. "It'll give me time to stretch myself out, and make it so that I can walk without limping. Did Howl say what his plans were today?"

"Well," Calcifer began, as I started stretching, "Since you can't dance, and you admitted last night, he thought that he'd take you around the shops and stuff. Say, who is this Cooper fellow anyways?"

I blinked, and stopped halfway through a back stretch.

"He mentioned that?" I asked, knowing full well that Howl had. "Raymond Cooper is just someone I met yesterday. An idiot, and a possessive one at that. I think Cooper likes me, but he irritates me, so nothing will happen. At least, nothing started by me."

I continued stretches, before I realized that my nightgown had turned into a jean skort and a crop-top turtle-neck, sleeveless, in a pale pink. My tan sandals waited by the door, when I finished, and I looked curiously at Calcifer.

"What keeps doing that?" I asked. "Changing my outfit, I mean."

"It's something Sophie did, because she wanted to dissuade Howl from buying her too many outfits. It only works on one set of clothing, but it makes sure that whatever outfit you want, you get."

I nodded, feeling slightly surprised, and smug.

"Useful," I replied. "Does it do jewelry too?"

"Nope," was the Fire Demons reply. "Sophie never did manage to find out how to make that work."

"Ah. Oh well. Is he going to be much longer?"

As if right on cue, Howl opened the bathroom door, and walked out in a cloud of steam and scent. I sneezed.

"You smell nice," I said, as he came down the stairs. "However, did you have to marinate in that stuff?"

"Being beautiful is what I do," came the reply. "Shall we?"

I rolled my eyes, slid on my sandals, and beat him to the door, which I turned to

Kingsburry. Howl opened the door, and together we stepped out into the sunshine.

He took the lead, gently holding my hand as I, with my less stiff, but still sore legs, stumbled on behind him. At the first shop, which was really not that impressive, I gave things a cursory glance, and moved on, not interested. There were a few places where I had to practically drag him out so that I wouldn't get lost, and he wouldn't have to search for me.

At around noon, we stopped at a food vendors, and bought drinks, and two chicken legs each, before finding a table to sit down at.

"You," I said, easing myself into a metal chair. "You my friend, are a shop-o-holic. How in the world did you manage to get all that stuff without trying!"

"They know me," he replied, unwrapping the food. "And they know that I don't often bargain, not matter how hard they try. My price, or no price."

I shook my head, and drank my water, trying to hide the amused smile.

"How about a break?" I suggested, once we had finished eating. "I'm starting to get a little tired from so much walking."

"Sure," Howl replied, amiably. "You've been stumbling a bit more, so rest would do you some good."

I caught his sleeve across the table as he stood up, giving him an exasperated look.

"You are not going to leave me here," I informed him tartly. "Who knows what might happen if you're not here as my escort, or whatever? If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not go through another "pick-me-up" episode like what happened yesterday."

He sat down again, rather fast, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Well, well, I thought it was you Mia!"

"Speak of the idiot, and he shall appear," I muttered, just loud enough for Howl to hear.

I sighed, but put a friendly smile on my face, and turned to look at Raymond Cooper

"I thought you'd be dancing," he said, all smiles. "but here you are taking a break. Talk about luck."

"Yeah." I said, uneasily. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Cooper."

"Not that again," he said. "I told you to call me Ray!"

"I just don't feel comfortable about that," I murmured, ducking my head. "It's not polite to call you that without getting to know you properly."

He sat down, green eyes barely even flashing over to Howl, who's sleeve I still had in one hand. In fact, Raymond reached out, took that hand, and kissed the back of it. I drew my hand back, and looked nervously at Howl, who motioned getting up. I gave a slight nod in return, before returning my attention to Raymond.

"Well then," he began, "let's get to know each other, my dear. After all, we could end up together."

I stood at the same moment Howl did, and shook my head.

"That's very.. " I couldn't think of a word, so I just switched topics. "We were just getting ready to continue walking through the festival, so maybe I'll see you again later."

Now he seemed to notice Howl, and got downright sulky, up to when I nearly fell down again due to my over-taxed legs. Howl was around the table in an instant, one arm around my waist, even before Raymond could get out of his chair.

"Are you alright?"

His voice was low and worried, making me want to pour reassurances over him. When I looked up into those worried blue orbs however, I found that I couldn't lie to him.

"I've... had better days," I finally admitted. "I guess I wasn't as ready to walk as I thought. Still, if I don't walk, then my legs will seize up, and then it'll hurt even worse."

I have never felt quite so short as I did that day. I fit right under Howl's arm, and when Raymond stood up, I felt dwarfed by him as well.

Howl looked unhappy that I was going to insist on walking, but a look at Raymond stopped him from protesting. I gave Raymond a wave, and Howl sped us off into the crowd. A flash of light got my attention, and I tugged on Howl's arm, before he sped past. He stopped as I slipped out from under his protective arm, and into the tent.

"Oh," I breathed. "How beautiful."

Jewelry. My only other shopping weakness, besides books, and music. Gold jewelry, silver jewelry, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires! The stuff that had attracted my attention was a crystal, hanging from the center of the tent. There were maybe two other people in the tent, one I assumed was another customer, and the other was the proprietor.

I browsed the glass cases, admiring this and that piece of jewelry, seeing things that my mother, sister, or friends would have loved. What stopped me was the opals. My ultimate weakness, gold jewelry set with white opals.

Tentatively, I rested my hand against the glass that shielded the jewelry from grasping hands, and just stared. All the rings, necklaces, and other forms of jewelry were amazing, but what caught my eye was a specific setting.

It was a gold ring, with a blooming rose on top. At the very center of that rose was a piece of opal that shone like fire. Near it were matching earrings, and a matching necklace. I was awestruck, and moved away from them only reluctantly, when I remembered that I had no money to buy anything like that with.

I sighed, and moved to look at the other jewelry, and almost bumped into Howl, who had been looking over my shoulder. His eyes revealed nothing, but when we walked out of the tent, I had a feeling that he'd bought something, even though I hadn't seen it. And I had seen the opal set as we walked out, so I dismissed the thought with a sigh.

There was a bench nearby, which was wonderful, since I felt just about ready to collapse.

"Maybe we should save the rest for another day," I suggested, dropping onto the bench with a sigh. "I mean, a day where I can actually last longer than I have."

Howl sat next to me, stretching out his own legs, and nodded.

"That sounds like a good idea," he remarked. "But you said that tomorrow you wanted to dance, and" he leaned close to my ear, "I did promise to teach you how to dance with a partner."

If I wasn't red from exhaustion, I certainly was now, simply from his nearness, and that reminder. I swallowed, feeling very faint, and managed a shaky smile.

"So I won't dance the whole day," I retorted. "Just half, or something. And I don't know if my legs are up for the teaching."

His smile made my spine melt.

"Don't worry," he said. "All you have to really do is lean on me."

I coughed, and looked down, to hide my blush, which made Howl chuckle.

"So, home?" he asked me, after a few minutes of silence.

I nodded, and accepted his helping hand. My wizard friend had to almost carry me up the stairs to get into the castle proper, but we did make it.

"Hey," Calcifer called. "Something wrong?"

I mumbled a reply, before rousing enough to ask for hot water, and going upstairs to my bathroom. I soaked in the tub for almost two hours, trying to relax tight, sore muscles, before giving it up, and getting out. This time I had seen my clothes change, so the t-shirt and leggings I pulled on didn't surprise me much.

I didn't so much walk down the stairs as I did fall, but I arrived on the first floor

unharmed, nearly running into Howl, who had been waiting at the base of the stairs. He gently caught my hand, and pulled me out into the middle of the floor. I did notice that Calcifer had gone somewhere, but assumed that he was sleeping, or something, and decided not to think about it.

"I promised I would teach you," Howl murmured, as he all but held me upright. "So I shall."

He pulled my arms up to his shoulders, I was to short to put them around his neck, and put his arms around my waist, pulling me in close. Tiredly, I rested my head on his chest, and listened more to his heartbeat than to his instructions, but when we started to move, I picked it up quickly.

"You're a natural," Howl stated, a smile in his voice. "May I join you when you dance tomorrow?"

I looked up at him, and smiled shyly, before nodding in ascension. He squeezed my hand gently, eyes warm. I almost said something about how I'd listened in on his and Calcifer's conversation the other night, but Calcifer chose that moment to reappear.

"Oh that's why you wanted me out of the castle," the fire demon said. "I thought as much!"

Howl and I jumped apart, and I yelped as my legs went out from under me, and I tumbled to the floor. Calcifer snorted, and seemed to be about to laugh, but I gave him an irritated look.

"Don't say a word," I grumbled. "It's not that funny."

Howl seemed to be biting the inside of his cheek, as I managed to get to my feet. I

staggered over to my cubbyhole, and dropped onto the bed, face in the pillow. My right arm fumbled with the curtain, and the moment that it was dark enough, I fell asleep, not waking until the next morning.


	5. Chapter 4

Part 4

Howl took one look at me in the morning, and decided that I was going to be stuck in bed until he thought it was okay for me to get up. I complied only reluctantly, and watched as he made breakfast with only a couple of mistakes.

Secretly, I knew that he was right, but confinement just drove me nuts, because it meant not having anything to do. To my surprise, Howl offered to show me some of the things he had bought the other day, and gave me a few books to read before he went back to Kingsburry.

One of the books was a bunch of fairytales, which I immediately picked up and read, sometimes aloud to Calcifer, as it helped to pass the time. When night fell, and Howl hadn't come in, I became a bit worried, but Calcifer told me not to.

"He does this sometimes," the fire demon said, reaching out for another log. "I don't know why, but he does. He'll be back by morning, if not earlier."

I sighed, and nodded, marking my place in the book, before I tried to get up. I couldn't put any weight on my legs without having them collapse under me, so with an aggravated curse, I stayed where I was.

"Why is it," I began, "that when he's right about something he manages to sound so incredibly smug without even trying?"

Calcifer gave a little flame shrug.

"Dunno. Maybe because he can be smug about knowing it?"

At about that moment, the door opened, and Howl sailed in, carrying a bag of what smelled like delicious foods.

"Sorry it took me so long," Howl said, shutting the door with his foot. "It was fairly crowded out there."

"It's been crowded," I reminded him. "What makes today any worse than yesterday?"

"Yesterday," he emphasized, "I had a pretty girl on my arm, deterring all the hopefuls."

I didn't know whether to laugh or feel shy, so I just grinned, and shrugged.

"You're the one who said I had to stay in bed," I remarked, slightly tart-voiced. "So don't blame me if you got swarmed."

Calcifer laughed, and Howl dragged a chair next to my bed. He handed me one of the food containers, and a drink, then tossed something over to Calcifer, who munched it down happily.

"I ran into your... admirer, today," Howl said after a few minutes. "He wanted to know where you were."

I groaned theatrically, rolling my eyes.

"I thought you might say that," he grinned, blue eyes twinkling. "So I told him that you were at your home, ill, and wouldn't be around for a couple of days. He seemed very put out."

"Good," I snorted. "He's an idiot who wants to have everything his own way, and he doesn't know how to take no for an answer."

"He also said that if anything ever happened to you, he would hold me personally

responsible. Not in as many nice words, of course, but that was the main gist of the message."

Judging by the look on Howls face, I felt pretty sure that Raymond had said some other things, but as I was about to enquire, he told me something else.

"Oh, and he introduced me to his sister.. Alicia? Yes, that was her name."

I nearly dropped my fork in surprise. Raymond had a sister? A frown creased my features as I thought about that untimely development. Knowing how Howl felt about me made it hard to ignore what I felt for him, and another girl could complicate matters. Especially if she was considered beautiful by others.

"Something wrong?"

I jumped, pushed my doubts to the back of my mind to stew over later, and plastered a dry smile on my face.

"No, nothing," I said. "Just thinking. What's she like?"

Howl shook his head of blond hair, and sighed.

"A lot like her brother. It took a lot of energy just to get away without using magic."

I tilted my head, confused. He correctly interpreted my look, and explained.

"Many people in Kingsburry don't remember the story of the Wizard Pendragon who did his best to avoid his duty," the wizard said dryly. "Also, they now put more faith in their mechanics than in old magic, so a lot of witches and wizards have moved on, making magic scare-seen in the town. Surprising people with a sudden burst of magic would likely frighten them, and then I'd have to find a new place to do shopping."

I nodded slowly, as Howl fed the remains of the food to Calcifer, who gobbled it up with satisfied noises.

"Makes sense," I replied. "I suppose at least. In the old days though, long ago, didn't the King used to employ as many wizards as he could get his hands on?"

"He used to," he replied, picking up a book. "But not as many any more. Just Lady

Sullivan and a couple of others."

He shuddered, and I couldn't help but giggle. I'd heard about Lady Sullivan from Calcifer, and about how Howl had done his best to avoid wartime duties.

Giving me a mock injured look, he flipped through the book, and settled in to read. I glanced over his shoulder from time to time, but mostly I was lost in my own thoughts.

A sister..' I frowned slightly. That's not good. I wonder what Howl thinks of her. Does he like her at all? I know that he likes me... and I know I like him. But will he ever tell me straight up? Will I ever get up the courage to tell him?'

I didn't even notice when Howl put down his book, and went upstairs to clean up and go to bed. Calcifer went to sleep, and reached out occasionally for a log, but still I thought on.

I don't quite know when thoughts became sleep, but it likely happened somewhere in the early hours of the morning, since I ended up sleeping through Howl's breakfast and leaving. It was closer to noon when I woke up, and even Calcifer was impressed that I'd managed to sleep for so long.

I did manage to stumble upstairs to use the bathroom, but I nearly made a crash landing on the way back down. Still, I stubbornly pushed myself, until I could barely move my legs. I knew that my healing factor would kick in eventually.

Calcifer watched, occasionally commenting, but I made him swear to not tell Howl, because I knew Howl would be upset before I fell back into my bed, and slept again.

On the third day, which was the fifth day of the festival, I woke before Howl, and hopped out of bed, feeling energetic, and ready to go. I tossed a couple of logs onto Calcifer's ashy hearth, and examined it critically, as well as the rest of the downstairs.

This place needs to be cleaned,' I decided. I don't mind a bit of mess, but this is to much, even for me. Still, it can likely wait until after the festival.'

"You're awake already?" Calcifer asked, looking at me. "I thought you'd sleep all day, like you did yesterday! And you're standing on your own. You're going to the festival huh?"

"After I clean up," I replied absently. "speaking of which, can I get some hot water?"

"Sure. You ask much nicer than Howl. He just demands."

I grinned.

"I'll see if I can get him to work on that, alright? I'll be down in a bit. And thanks Calcifer, you're the best."

I saw him turn a darker shade of red before I turned to walk up the stairs. My natural healing ability must have kicked in while I slept, I decided which made my legs as good as new. I shucked my nightgown and stepped into the shower, turning the water on full blast.

As the water pounded my neck and shoulders in a soothing motion, my thoughts returned to what had woken my up so early. Even under the heat, I shivered, recalling the strange nightmare I'd had.

"It must be nothing," I murmured, rinsing my hair. "Dreams don't often mean anything.. But then again, I've had my share of prophetic dreams. Could that be one of them? No. No, it was only a dream. Just a dream."

With a resigned sigh, I turned off the water, and dried off, then studied myself critically in the mirror. I had never considered myself very beautiful, my face to square, eyebrows to bushy and eyes to small, but had learned a few tricks to enhance myself so that maybe I could pass for pretty, even if I wasn't beautiful or gorgeous.

With a nod, I pulled out everything I would need, and set it on the counter next to the sink, then pulled my nightgown over my head, bound up my still wet hair, and headed downstairs, for the breakfast I could smell cooking.

"Good morning," I sang, walking down the stairs. "What smells so good?"

It was amusing to see both Howl and Calcifer jump when I spoke, and Howl jumped away from the hearth so fast that he smacked his head on the overhanging mantel. I snickered, but went over to make sure that he hadn't done any damage, and to check on breakfast.

"You alright?" I asked, not quite able to hide my grin. "That looked painful."

"You surprised me," he replied, rubbing his skull. "When did you get so hyper this early in the morning."

"Call it to much energy from forced idleness," I retorted cheerfully, sticking out my tongue as an after-thought. Then, I checked the contents of the frying pan, making sure that nothing had burned, before dumping it efficiently onto two plates.

"I'm assuming that you're going to want to go dancing today?" Howl asked, an amused twinkle in his eyes.

I nodded excitedly, but ate slowly. After having eaten nothing the day before, I knew that eating to fast would only make me sick. Howl finished before I did, and headed upstairs to wash. I cleaned up the dishes, and gave Calcifer a log, before going up to my bathroom, and checking to make sure that I had everything I might need. Then, I had figured out how to work Sophie's spell, I changed my nightgown for a clean jumper dress in soft pink, and a light green thin cotton shirt, with belled sleeves, and blue ribbons tying the sleeves at just under the elbows.

I ran a brush through my unruly hair, and tied it back with a darker blue velvet ribbon, mentally commanding it to lie flat. Then, I lightly brushed my face with the cosmetics, blue around my eyes, to make them stand out, a dusting of natural powder to dampen down my pink cheeks, and a dark red over my lips.

I almost didn't recognize myself when I looked again in the mirror, and to top it all off, I found a delicate, unused rose scent, that I sprayed and walked into a couple of times. I heard Howl leaving his bathroom, and waited until five minutes had passed, then stepped out of my own, and walked sedately down the stairs.

The look on both Howl's and Calcifer's faces made me give myself a mental pat on the back, and as I reached the main floor, I smiled at them. I think Howl's spine melted, because he was pretty wobbly when he stood up.

"Are you alright?" I asked. "Maybe you hit your head to hard."

"I'm fine," Howl said hastily. "Shall we go?"

I waved to Calcifer, and winked behind Howl's back. The fire demon turned redder, but I could see the pronounced grin on his fiery face. Howl opened the door, and slid my hand under his arm, and we stepped out into bright Kingsburry sunshine.

It was fairly irritating that almost immediately we ran into Raymond, and the girl who I assumed was his sister, Alicia.

She was beautiful. Her hair was a reddish brown, long thick and wavy, hanging well past her knees. It accented her slim waist, and large chest, which was somewhat revealed thanks to a low-cut, skintight, dress, in a grey-green that brought out the stormy grey of her eyes.

I felt as plain as a driveway standing near her, but Howl paid her scant attention. Raymond tried to get my hand, for what reason, I'm not to sure of, but I ignored him, looking only at Howl.

"Dancing first?" I asked, pleadingly. "Pleeeaaaassseee?"

He laughed, and nodded, leading the way. Both Alicia and Raymond followed us,

undiscouraged, which was irritating, but the minute I saw the dance square, I forgot all about them. I grinned up at Howl, who smiled back at me.

"Now, it's my turn to show you how to dance," I said impishly. "Come on!"

He protested as I dragged him into the crowd with me, but once he got the hang of the steps, he started to get into it. I could just barely see Raymond and Alicia at the edge of the crowd, scowling, so I flashed them a little smug grin.

I sang along when I recognized the music, usually low enough that only I could hear myself, but when I realized what song was playing, and the part that was missing, I let myself go. My voice spiraled above the other singers in the known descant part, which confused some, but judging by the looks on almost everyone's faces, most of them were relieved.

I shifted around during the song, so that one minute I was in front of the singers, the next I was somewhere in the crowd. It made sure that no one would be able to figure out where the descant really came from.

Howl, of course, knew, but chose to remain silent, and wait for the song to end. When it did, and I returned to his side, he put an arm around my shoulder, hugging me close, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I guess for him, it was, but being that close to him made me a tad bit shy.

"Ready for a break?" he asked, looking down at me. "I think I am."

I nodded, and we retreated to a table near the edge of the square, where, unfortunately, we were joined by Raymond and Alicia.

"So, you're the one that my brother is so enamored of," Alicia said quietly. "He's a dork, but he has his good points. You can't do much better, now can you? You don't seem to be much to look at, though, and I don't suppose you have any money, so I don't know why he'd be interested in you."

I gave her a look, and wondered if smiling would confuse her. I did, and it did.

"What's so funny?" she demanded. "Is there something on my face!"

"You have no idea," I murmured. "Besides, I'm not interested in any relationships right now, and frankly, your brother is annoying."

I couldn't hear what Howl and Raymond were discussing, and privately speaking, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. When Howl looked like he was about to explode, I gently laid my hand on his arm, and stood.

"Weren't there a few shops you wanted to show me a couple of days ago?" I asked

quietly, keeping my moves slow and controlled, and my voice gentle. "Let's go see them, shall we?"

Tugging and cajoling by turns, I got Howl to walk away from whatever confrontation had been about to happen. The look I shot at Raymond was cold and froze him in place, preventing a reoccurrence at least for that day.

Howl remained tense, for a great part of the afternoon, until we reached the end of the shops, and found the few rides. A rollercoaster, Ferris wheel, bumper cars, and a water-slide. He insisted on the roller coaster, despite my severe protests. He went up by himself, because I refused to get on the coaster, but as I watched from the ground, I couldn't help but smile.

"It figures," I remarked to no one in particular. "The scariest ride here, and it loosens him up. Still, I wonder what they said. It must have been something to make him so angry. I've never seen Howl in such a bad temper."

He rode the Coaster three times, and when he got off, it was much later than I had thought it would be.

Feeling better?" I asked, taking the hand he offered cheerfully. "You look calmer."

"Yes, much better. Are you sure you don't want to ride on that?"

I shuddered, and shook my head.

"Too high, too fast, and it goes upside-down. I'll settle for something tamer thanks all the same."

"Well, the Ferris wheel then?"

"Howl," I sighed, amusedly exasperated. "They're closing down now. Even if you don't know what sleep is, I do, and I'm ready to go to bed."

He sighed theatrically, and I shook my head, to hide my amused grin. Then, through the thinning crowds, we made our way back to the doorway that led to the castle. Unfortunately, I saw Raymond as I went through the door behind Howl, and saw his eyes narrow in anger, before he nudged his sister, and pointed in my direction. Swiftly I closed the door behind me, and went into the main room.

"So how was it?" Calcifer asked. "You're not limping, so I'm going to assume you didn't hurt yourself with to much dancing.

"Oh, and what has Howl all twisted up? He just snarled for hot water and went upstairs."

"We ran into Raymond and his sister," I replied, sitting down in front of the hearth. "I don't really know what they said, but he's been grouchy all afternoon."

I sighed softly, remembering how physically beautiful Alicia had been, and pulled some of my own hair over my shoulders.

"Something on your mind?" the fire demon queried, "You look kinda down."

"She's beautiful," I mumbled. "Way more so than I could ever hope to be. How can I compete when I look so plain?"

"Compete?" Calcifer echoed. "Compete for what?"

I scuffed my foot against the hearthstone, and glanced over my shoulder, to make sure that Howl wasn't standing anywhere near the stairs, or an open door.

"You have to promise not to tell Howl," I said. "But. I overheard you two the other night. You know, after I over-did the festival dancing. I'm just scared to tell him that I. care for him too.

"And Alicia is so much prettier than me! Who'd want a sparrow when you can get a nightingale!"

Calcifer remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"Trust yourself," he said. "Howl likes you for you, not for how you look, though I have to admit, this morning was definitely a surprise. My point is, just be who you are, and nothing anyone else does can ruin what you want to build.

"Now tell me something more cheerful. I know the day couldn't have been all bad!"

I smiled faintly, a bit reassured.

"No," I conceded, "it wasn't all bad. I got to join in on a song I knew, singing descant. It wasn't actually with the group that was singing, but they didn't have that part, so I just let myself go over the top of their voices. So the crowd got the full effect of the song. That was fun."

The door opened upstairs, and Howl walked out in a cloud of steam, went into his

bedroom, and closed the door tightly behind him, without saying goodnight.

"I hope he's in a better mood tomorrow," I sighed. "With any luck, those two won't show up and bother us."

"Incidentally," Calcifer said, as I put logs within reach, then climbed into bed. "Howl's worried too. He thinks that this Raymond fellow might steal you away. You should reassure him."

"I will. Good night Calcifer. Thanks for listening."


	6. Chapter 5

Part 5

The next morning I woke with a yelp, and sat up swiftly, smacking my head into the stairs, then flopping back down onto my pillow, with another yelp.

"Are you okay?" Calcifer called. "What happened?"

I rubbed my forehead, and scowled up at the stairs. Howl pulled back my curtain, and gave me a worried look. I waved him off, and sat up gingerly. When the room didn't spin, or any other unpleasantness, I swung my feet out of the bed, and stretched.

"I'm alright," I replied. "I'll have a bruise, but nothing to serious. What's for breakfast?"

Howl shook his head, amused, and Calcifer cackled. I shrugged, and stuck my tongue out at both of them, then passed my hand through my hair, hiding the chill that ran down my spine as I tried to forget my dreams.

"Well?" I asked, mock impatient, "What is for breakfast... or should I make something..?"

I grinned, and Howl laughed.

"If you feel up to it, be my guest," the wizard said. "Somehow, Calcifer always listens to you."

Winking at Calcifer, I stood up, then bustled around the kitchen, making pancake mix, while Howl tended to Calcifer's wood. I gave the fire demon the egg shells, and two bacon rinds as payment, and Howl shook his head again.

"I'm going to end up with a spoiled fire demon," he said, smiling.

"Hey, bribes work," I shrugged, smiling. "It's so much easier this way."

We ate, I washed up the dishes, then went upstairs to clean-up, still harboring a few self-doubts. I examined myself in the mirror that hung on one of the walls, ceiling to floor.

I had never thought much of myself. I was a tad bit on the chubby side, with a square face, and, to top it off, I was short. Of course, with someone else to compare myself to, I felt didn't even feel cute, especially because that other girl was everything I wasn't.

I made a face at myself, and showered, bound my hair into a braid, and wore a simple rusty-red skirt, white shirt and blue vest. I didn't add cosmetics, but Howl still seemed to like what he saw, so I took a bit of comfort from that.

We stepped out into the sunlight on the last day of the festival, and promptly ran into Raymond and Alicia! Talk about irritating!

"What were you doing in there?" Alicia demanded with narrow eyes. "I hope you weren't thinking about trying to take my Howl, a plain little thing like you."

I gave her a cool glance, before starting in on her.

"First of all," I began, voice clipped. "He's not your Howl.' He's my friend! Secondly, whatever happens between us is none of your business, and thirdly you have no right to claim him, as if he were meat! He's a living human being, not some choice package of beef or something! I can't believe you..."

It was kinda funny to realize that Raymond and Howl were having a similar conversation, at the same time. In unison Howl and I picked up our feet, intent on losing the pair, but they dogged us everywhere we went, all day.

"Ferris wheel?" Howl asked.

"Oh Howl, I'd love to," Alicia gushed.

He ignored her, looking only at me. I smiled faintly, swallowed my nervous apprehension, and nodded.

"Sounds good," I had to struggle to keep my voice neutral. "Let's go..."

"Home?" Raymond finished. "I think I'd like that very much. In fact let's go right now!"

My hand was closed tightly in Howl's while we did this verbal dance around the two who refused to leave us alone. Since we couldn't get away from them we had mutually decided to ignore them, in hope that they'd get the clue.

Lady Luck laughed at us, as we headed for the Ferris wheel, then Howl remembered something that perked him right up. I noticed, and gave him a curious glance.

"Since it's the last night, there will be fireworks soon." He said. "We might get to see them while we're on the wheel."

That tidbit picked my enthusiasm right up off the ground, and gave it a good dusting off, before plunking it upright where it belonged. I grinned, excitement masking my nervousness at going up so high.

The wheel wasn't the kind I was used to, with it's open topped and bottom seats that always made me feel like I was going to fall out. Instead, it was rather like an enclosed circular room. Howl, myself, Raymond and Alicia all entered one wire cage, and sat on cushioned seats. I almost fell over in surprise when I sat down, but Howl, laughing, pulled me upright.

"Not what you're used to, is it," he asked eyes twinkling.

I shook my head, and stuck out my tongue. I could practically feel the death-glare coming from Alicia, but I ignored it. For a moment, I was with Howl, and everything was alright.

At least, until our cage got to the top of the wheel. With a shuddering screech, which jolted the cage, the wheel got stuck. As the cage shook and swayed, Alicia screamed, trying to get across the cage to Howl. I just sat there, silently frightened, holding onto Howl's arm. When the cage stopped moving, I relaxed, slightly, but didn't let go. Inside, my heart was still jumping, and I shook, though with the car stopped, and unmoving, I could tell that it had only gotten jammed somehow. Alicia screamed until my nerves snapped.

With a quick motion, I leaned forward, and slapped her hard across the face. Surprised, she closed her mouth, and brought her hand to her cheek, amazed that someone like me would dare to strike out at her. I shook my stinging hand, and sat down again.

"It's alright," I said, trying to hide the quiver in my voice "The wheel's just broken down is all. They should have it fixed soon... I hope."

Howl slid a comforting arm around my shoulders, and pointed out the mesh that

surrounded where windows would be. The first firework exploded in a brilliant burst of orange, followed by another and another. Music drifted up to us from the square, and I sang softly along with it, slowly relaxing in the peace the music, the fireworks, and Howl brought to me. Shyly, I leaned my head against Howl's chest, listening to the sound of his heart.

"Best place to view them from," he murmured softly in my ear. "Sorry I had to scare you so badly, but I wanted you to see them from here."

I smiled shyly up at him, and laid my right hand over his.

"It's alright," I replied, in a voice as soft as his had been. "I'm glad that I could see them from here. This is so beautiful."

We stayed like that, until the finale, ignoring both Alicia's sniffles, from when I had slapped her to get her to shut up, and Raymond's constant clearing of his throat. Just before the Finale, Howl sat up, disrupting my comfortable seat, and pulled something from his pocket.

"Before I forget," he began, "I have something for you."

Immediately, Alicia was all smiles.

"Oh Howl," she sighed, pretending he was talking to her. "You shouldn't have!"

He ignored her, and handed me a wooden box, with the images of a rainbow, countless flowers, and musical notes burned into the lid. I looked up at him, and he motioned for me to open it. When I did, I felt as though I had been hit by a 2x4 with a nail in it.

"Oh." I gasped. "Oh Howl..."

It was the opal rose set that I had admired in the store three days before, minus the ring. Along with the necklace and earrings was a cuff bracelet in gold, with amethysts, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires representing flowers laid all around it. My throat closed up, and I looked up at Howl feeling like I was going to cry. He smiled at me, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't want me to buy this for you if you were around, so I did it secretly, while you were stuck in bed." He explained. "I saw you admire it, out of everything else we saw that day. Do you... like it?"

I wanted to kiss him, but my nerves bound and held me, as the finale exploded overhead. All I could do was smile, and hold the box carefully in my hands.

"Howl. I love it," I said. "Thank you so much!"

Reverently, I put the earrings in, replacing my pearl drop posts, and fastened the bracelet around my wrist. With Howl's help, I managed to get the necklace on. Rather, he fastened it, while I held my braid out of the way. I would swear that as he did that, his lips brushed my neck, but it was a feather-light touch, so I wasn't sure.

With another rumble-jerk, the wheel started to move again, and I could see that they were letting people out at the bottom, with apologies like there was no tomorrow. I felt deliriously happy, heart lighter than air, and when we got off, I looked at Howl, with a grin.

"One more dance?" I asked.

I saw him roll his eyes, but he smiled and nodded. When we reached the square, there were only a few people left dancing, but the group was still playing on. Howl let go of my hand, and I looked up at him, then shook my head.

"I mean, one more dance with you silly."

I blushed faintly, he smiled, and we went out to join the couples on the floor. We were fine, until Raymond cut in. Will ill-grace, Howl let him, and was swiftly claimed by Alicia. I danced stiffly, keeping Raymond as far from me as I could.

"You really need to stop being so rebellious," Raymond purred, as he swung me around. "I will have you whether you want me to or not. Your pretty-boy friend over there won't be able to keep you for very long. You're mine girl, and I will get you for myself."

I pushed him away, fiercely protective.

"I will kill myself before I ever go to you willingly," I snarled. "And if you think you can force me to do what you want, you'll have another thing coming. I'm not docile when someone threatens me or those I care for."

Furious and unhappy, I stalked over to the side of the square, and threw myself into a chair, to watch Howl and Alicia. Howl pushed her away a few minutes later, and walked in my direction, carefully eyeing me, as though I might grow fangs and attack, or something.

"Dance with me?" he asked cautiously. "Please?"

I sighed softly, but took the outstretched hand. His arms wrapped around me as the group went into their last song of the night, the last one of the festival, and I leaned my head against his chest.

"Howl?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm scared," I whispered. "He scares me, and I don't want to be scared like this anymore."

I looked up at him, eyes wide, and saw his troubled look. He pulled me closer, and gently ran his hand over my braid.

"I won't let him take you away from me," He whispered. "I promise."

I closed my eyes, and for a moment, it was like we were the only two people in the world. Peace settled over me, and I felt Howl relax as well.

"I won't let her hurt you," I murmured back. "Never. You've already been hurt so much."

I had a feeling that if I glanced over at the siblings, I'd see glares, or smug looks , so when the song ended at last, I looked up, instead of over, and to my delight, saw a shooting star.

"Howl, look up!" I said, tugging on his sleeve. "Shooting stars!"

"Make a wish," he smiled. "Make it a good one too."

I closed my eyes, and clasped my hands, wishing with all my heart. Then, when I felt that I could wish no more, I felt Howl slide an arm around my shoulder. I leaned against him, as we walked to the castle door, and into the place that was starting to become home to me.

Calcifer didn't even bother to look up as we entered, only asking muzzily for another log, which I threw onto the fire. I moved to head for my cubbyhole, but Howl gently caught my wrist. Curious, I looked up at him, head tilted slightly.

"Good night," he said.

I smiled.

"Good night Howl," I replied softly. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

Before I could say anything else, Howl bent down, and gently kissed my cheek, then swiftly climbed the stairs, leaving me standing in the main room, blushing furiously. I brought my hand to my cheek, and looked up the stairs, at his door which had just closed.

"I love you," I whispered. "I love you Howl Pendragon.."


	7. Chapter 6

Part 6

For the next few days, I was restless. Now that I had regained my sense of self, I wanted to do something, anything, to alleviate boredom from just sitting.

So, I cleaned. I chased Howl out of the house early in the mornings, and Calcifer

abandoned his hearth so that I could get at the piles of ashes.

"Don't go overboard," Howl said one morning, as he ducked out the door. "Please."

I just waved to him, and he shut the door. Calcifer had left sometime during the night, which made it easy to get at the hearth first. I bundled up the ashes in a large tarp, which I took and trashed, then laid new wood down for when he returned.

The table only needed a few swipes with a rag, but the floors needed to be swept and mopped, and the stairs too. I even went upstairs and cleaned the bathroom that belonged to Howl, and what a mess it was! I had no idea how he could live like that, but I tied on a clean mask to filter the smell, rolled up my sleeves, and set to work.

After cleaning his bathroom, I rearranged his shelves so that they'd be a bit more

organized, and went on to clean the rafters of the hall. It took me another two hours before I was done cleaning, and I'd officially worn myself out.

I fell into the chair in front of the hearth, and wiped my forehead. I was tired, sweaty, and dirty, and Calcifer wasn't around to provide me with any hot water so that I could clean-up. I sighed, and slouched in the chair, breathing a breath of fresh air, coming from what I judged to be Port Haven, since I could smell the salty tang of the water.

There was a knock on the door, just as Calcifer popped back down into the hearth.

"Kingsburry," he said, settling in among the logs that had been stacked for him. "You really did a number on this place! It looks much better than before."

I smiled, and pushed myself out of the chair.

"When I'm done with whoever's on the other side of the door, could I have some hot water so that I can clean myself up too?"

"Sure," Calcifer said, getting comfortable among the logs.

I tried to fight with my hair which had dust in it, but gave up after a minute, when the knock turned into a pound.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" I called. "Sheesh, be a little more patient, would ya!"

I stalked down the stairs, and yanked the door open, to reveal Raymond and Alicia. I stood there for a moment, then shut the door in their faces. Immediately, the pounding started again. With an irritated sigh, I pulled the door open, and looked at them.

"What!" I demanded, not in the mood to be polite. "I'm busy right now!"

"Well, be un-busy," Raymond said, leaning against the doorframe. "I've come to take you on a date."

"Not on your life," I said flatly. "I'm cleaning. And before you say anything, no, Howl is not at home. And on that note, I'll wish you both good day, and get back to what I was doing."

Again, I closed the door in their faces, and turned the color knob til Port Haven blue

showed through.

"Calcifer, can anyone enter?" I asked, scowling at the door which Raymond had begun pounding on again.

"Nope. Only you or Howl can get through that door. Or Michael and Martha," he added as an after-thought.

"Michael? Martha?" I asked. "Who're they?"

"Howl's old apprentice and his wife," the fire demon replied. "It's a trait all wizards have. They live forever, and if the wizard finds the right spell, he can make his spouse live forever.

"So Michael, and his wife Martha are still around, but Howl didn't find the spell in time to help Sophie. Still, it's nice to know you. You would have liked Sophie. She did the cleaning thing too."

I laughed, and went up the stairs, still ignoring the pounding of the door. I cleaned myself up, and dressed in a pair of pajama's that I changed the colors of three times, slid my feet into soft slippers, and walked down the stairs in time to see Howl and two other people walk in, a young-looking man and woman.

It wasn't Raymond or Alicia, so I was immediately ready to treat them with kindness, but when Howl shut the door, and the pounding started again, I nearly threw something.

"What's going on?" Howl asked, confused. "How long has that been going on, and where's it coming from?"

"Kingsburry door," I replied, running a hand through my hair. "And it's Alicia and

Raymond. They've been at it since around. three, I think. It started just after I finished cleaning."

I saw Michael, for it could only be the two Calcifer had told me about, bite his lip. He seemed to be fighting a smile, for what reason I wasn't sure of, but I had a feeling I'd soon find out.

"But I can't get rid of them," I continued. "So I've been ignoring them as best I can. Can either of you do anything?"

Howl looked at Michael, who shrugged, and sketched something on the door with chalk. Immediately the pounding vanished.

"Nice," I nodded. "What was that? Some kind of silencing spell?"

"Not quite." Michael hedged. "It was a random teleport spell. Whoever was hitting the door is now in some place that I don't know, and it should take them a while to get back."

I laughed, and clapped my hands, delighted.

"The spell should wear off by morning," Howl finished, "so for now, lets eat!"

It was kinda nice sitting around the table learning about Michael from Howl and Martha, and about Howl from Michael. It was late before they left, and I felt a tiny sense of peace, when the door shut behind them. Then, I yawned, and stretched out my back with a sigh.

"That was fun," I said sleepily, rubbing my eyes. "They're nice."

"Martha was once Sophie's sister," Howl replied. "It was almost too late for her when we found the spell. Sophie had died only two years earlier, so..."

I looked up at him, and gently patted him hand. He smiled sadly down at me, as I stood up, yawning again.

"G'night Howl," I yawned. "pleasant dreams."

The next morning started off innocently enough. We ate, and talked, and I quietly held a request inside, waiting for another day. The sea breeze filtered in through the open windows, and the seagulls cries filled the air.

After Howl went up to clean-up, I gave Calcifer a few logs, and hummed to myself as I cleaned up the dishes. The yell from upstairs nearly made me drop the plate I was holding.

"MARIE!"

My real name, that I'd almost forgotten, was bellowed by Howl as he came running down the stairs, wearing only a towel. His eyes were flashing a furious blue, and his hair... It was all I could do to not burst out laughing. His hair had become a bright emerald green.

Calcifer cackled with amusement, and I bit my lip, trying to hold my laughter inside. Howl glared at both of us.

"I told you not to go overboard!" he cried, looking at me. "Why did you have to mess up my bathroom!"

"I was just trying to organize it," I said, hands on my hips. "Besides, that place was filthy!"

"Sophie turned his hair orange!" Calcifer laughed, "And you turned it green!"

Howl slumped in the chair in front of the fire, and hung his head in despair. I shook my head, swallowed my laughter, and knelt down beside him.

"It's a nice color," I murmured, trying to calm him down.

Even as I said that, his hair darkened to black, the color of a crows wing. I stopped and admired it for a few seconds, a little envious knowing the way it would bring out those eyes of his, but he seemed ill-comforted by the mention of it. The room darkened, and shadowy figures began swirling around the walls. I looked at him, then at them, a frown crossing my face. Calcifer started to abandon his logs, but stopped when I looked at him curiously.

"Okay, I give up," I said. "What the hell's he doing?"

"He's calling on the spirits of Darkness, and he's going to go all slimy! Not even Sophie could calm him down when he went like this."

"Well," I grimly rolled up my sleeves. "It's a good thing that I'm not Sophie, isn't it?"

I shoved the chair back from the hearth, and lifted Howls chin, irritated. I heard the fire demon settle back into his logs, I wasn't sure if it was because he felt safe, or if he simply wanted to see what might happen.

"Howl, look at me," I commanded, my voice dangerously soft. "Look at me Howl

Pendragon, and stop throwing such a childish temper-tantrum. Are you five or.."

I looked over at Calcifer.

"Five-hundred," he supplied. I nearly lost my footing. "Yup, He's a young looking old guy."

I shook my head, as the spirits began swirling faster. Squaring my shoulders, I tilted Howl's chin up again, and brought my hand back.

"Sorry Howl, but this is just ridiculous," I snapped.

With a slight whoosh of air, I slapped him hard across his face. His head snapped left, and his eyes, which had been almost pupil-less, looked straight at me in shock. I folded my arms, and straightened, as the spirits vanished. The only sound was that of burning logs.

Slowly, Howl brought his hand up to touch his cheek. There was a red mark, that I knew would swiftly fade, because my arm-strength was a joke, but he seemed so surprised, that I couldn't help but smile.

"Are you going to act more mature now?" I demanded. "You are not a little child who can get away with a tantrum because they're tired and frustrated."

"But.." the wizard protested weakly.

"But nothing," I scowled, and poked his chest. "You're hair looks fine! Sheesh! You're worse than some of the girls I used to know when I went to school! It's hair Howl, not a tragedy!"

"It... looks... fine?"

I smacked my forehead, and muttered a few explicit curses under my breath that made Calcifer choke on laughter, and sighed.

"Is black your natural color?" I asked, slowly reclaiming my patience. "My mother used to tell me that a person looks best with their own natural color. Besides, the combination of black hair and blue eyes is something I've done myself. It brings out the blue better than almost any other color."

I fluffed my hair out in irritation, and scowled at him. Slowly, he nodded. I lifted my hand as if to say, well then,' and sighed softly.

"You think it looks. okay?" He was studying me, My irritation flared again, and I

smothered it with difficulty.

"It looks fine," I said shortly. "Now stop acting like a child, and go get dressed."

The look on his face when he realized his state of undress made me bite my lip to hide a grin, and stifle laughter. Howl bolted upstairs, and slammed his door, before I collapsed into fits of hysterical laughter.

When I managed to calm down enough, and wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes, I saw Calcifer regarding me with a mixture of amusement and awe on his face.

"What?" I asked, smothering more giggles. "Is something on my face?"

"Not even Sophie could do anything when Howl went that way. But then again, she never thought of slapping him."

I grinned.

"Well, if he wanted to act like a child, I was going to treat him like one. And when I misbehaved, I usually got smacked for it, a lot harder than I hit Howl."

He looked at me, amusement fading into amazement.

"And yet you turned out to nice." He said. "weird."

I stuck out my tongue, grinning.

"Me, nice?" I laughed. "I'm only nice when I want to be, and according to my friends..."

I stopped, feeling a pang of sorrow. I didn't even know if they were still alive, and my guilt ate away at my heart. I sighed quietly, and looked out the window.

I need to go home... I need to know. I'll ask him tomorrow.'


	8. Chapter 7

Part 7

It was a subdued breakfast we had the next morning. I picked at my food, working up my courage to ask to go home, but trying to phrase it so that I didn't sound ungrateful. Finally, Howl put down his fork, and gave me a mildly exasperated look.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" he said. "Is something wrong?"

I scuffed my foot against the floor, and fiddled with my napkin.

"I want..." I swallowed, nervously. "I want to see if any of my friends survived the... That day. I want to see if anyone I know is still alive."

"Oh, is that all?" he asked mildly. "Today, or later? We can go now if you'd like."

I felt my heart light up with a painful hope, and I ran around the table to give Howl a hug. He seemed surprised, but otherwise happy.

"Howl, you're the best!" I said, with feeling. "I'll do the dishes, then can we go?"

He chuckled, and nodded. Giving into the impulse, I kissed him lightly on the cheek, then gave the contents of my plate to Calcifer, so that I could clean up. The fire demon took the food happily, and grinned at me, giving a slight wink. I blushed slightly, but smiled.

Howl had already retreated upstairs to bathe, and I wondered if he'd take close to an hour, like usual. I washed the dishes, dried them, put them away, and went upstairs to my bathroom.

I washed my face, cleaned my teeth, and ran a brush through my hair, before binding it back in a simple, fluffy ponytail. I left my bathroom, and went downstairs to wait on Howl. It took ten more minutes before he emerged from his bathroom, hair still crows-wing black.

I hopped up from my place on the hearth, and waited with a semblance of patience while he turned the door's color-knob until it was green up, then turned to me.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" His blue eyes pierced through me. "It's not going to look like your old home."

I swallowed, fighting a severe wish to put this off, and nodded.

"If I'm not ready now, I don't know if I'll ever be ready," I murmured. "So let's go."

I walked to the door, took the hand he offered, then, taking a deep breath, I opened the door, and stepped out into the devastation.

It was much worse than I thought it would be. Power-lines were down, but the didn't spark, which told me that all the power was gone, probably the power-station had been bombed. There were holes where restaurants and small businesses had been, and twisted metal shapes that I started to realize were cars.

I pressed my lips together, and grimly began to walk into the town. The grocery stores had been left alone, as had the gas-stations, but everything else was wrecked. Howl gently pressed my hand, and I realized that I had been trembling. I took comfort in the fact that he was beside me, then took another direction, towards where Carmen, Luna, Frost, and Lamia had lived.

It took a couple of hours, because their home was rather far out of town. It was a burned out husk, but in the middle of where the main floor had been was a piece of paper, pinned to the one remaining brace.

Carefully, we picked our way towards it, and when I saw what was written, I nearly cried. I pressed my free hand to my mouth, not sure whether to be happy or afraid for them.

We've gone to Marie's. It's the safest place.

"Why is that?" Howl asked. "Your place is the safest because?"

I smiled tremulously.

"It's one of my natural talents," I replied softly. "Shields. The other is healing. All my friends used to tell me that my shields were the best they'd ever seen. And since they protected this paper. it means they think I'm still alive. They left it to let me know where they are!"

New determination filled me, and I turned back towards town. The only other place to check on was Flame's, where she'd lived with Fier, and Draco, her twin brother, and little sister. To get there meant another long trek through the town, and past the road that led to my home.

Their house was a bomb scar on the earth, but there was a piece of paper with the same note as the one I'd found at Lamia's. I practically danced when I saw it, and Howl hugged me, sharing in my joy.

"So, now I get to see your house," he said. "If your shields are as good as your friend believe, then it probably survived."

I bit my lip, and looked away. The one person that had mattered though.. she wouldn't be there. My mother. I knew that with a certainty, because she always went out to ride her horse before I came home. Our arrivals had always coincided, so I knew without a doubt that she had already passed on. Howl slid an arm around my shoulder, and I jumped, realizing that I had been standing there, silent, for about five moments.

"Are you alright now?" he murmured softly, concern in his voice. "It's okay to cry if you need to."

I straightened my shoulders, burying the pain as always, and while I couldn't smile, I could project a face of calm. I nodded slightly, tapping my feet to readjust the fit of my sneakers.

"Let's go," I whispered. "Let's see if their faith and my own kept my house in one piece."

The walk their was silent, I strained my ears to hear anything that might indicate either friend or foe. We turned down my street, and there, near the end was my home, completely intact. There were bomb holes around it, the barn had become a hole in the earth, and almost all the windows were shattered, but the house itself was still the same.

I breathed a soft sigh, and sank to my knees, fighting the pain and pleasure that threatened to overwhelm me. Howl crouched down at my side, and held me, as I struggled to contain the emotions. A few tears escaped, but soon, I was able to get to my feet, a smile on my face.

"Let's go up the back," I said. "Just watch out for the stairs, some of them are rotten."

I led the way up the back porch steps, and nearly fell through the second from the top. Howl braced me as I stumbled back, and I grabbed the railing stopping my backwards tumble.

"See what I mean?" I said, regaining my balance. "I'm glad that's the only one that rotted through. I told mom."

My throat closed, and tears pricked my eyes. Determinedly, I stuffed the pain deep inside, and reached the porch, and the sliding glass door. Carefully, I walked through the remains of the door, glass crunching under my sneakers and Howl's boots.

Immediately, the smell and feel of my home surrounded me. I stepped clear of the glass, and looked around. Everything was the same as it had been those few weeks ago. Some things were broken, the repercussions of the bombs having knocked them off their shelves, but most everything else was intact.

I breathed in the smell of incense, and smiled. Even if there were no voices, I knew that there were people in the house.

"I'm ho-ome!" I yelled. "Ain't ya'll gonna come greet me?"

They piled out of my mothers room, and up the stairs, enveloping me in hugs, and

questions. Howl tried to slip away, but I hung on, and he got included in the hugs, if perhaps, a little guardedly. It was a surprise to him, I could feel it in the way he held onto my hand.

I was happy, listening to all the questions, but inside of me, something started to break. While welcoming the hugs, I could feel their sympathy, and that was something I didn't want. Tears started sliding down my cheeks, and rather abruptly, I pushed away from all of them, and ran back outside.

It hurt, deep inside, to know that everyone's parents were dead, but it hurt more to know that my mother was gone. She was the only person that elicited my loyalty from childhood, and one of the only people who knew how lonely I could make myself.

Of course, in my blind rush, both to hold the tears back, and suppress pain, I forgot that the second stair had broken under me when I'd gone up. I didn't even have time to scream as I fell towards the ground. There was a sharp pain, then darkness.


	9. Chapter 8

Part 8

When I woke, I saw an opulent ceiling, fluffy blankets, and pillows. I was alone in the room, and didn't recognize my surroundings. Tentatively, I pushed the blankets off, and put my feet on the floor. Something about this place was familiar, but nothing I could pin down immediately.

My head felt a little fuzzy, but I could remember my name, and almost everything about myself, so I figured that nothing was wrong.

I opened the door, and looked out into a wooden hallway. I saw no one, so I decided to explore a little. The first door after the bedroom revealed an empty, and messy bathroom. I wrinkled my nose, and backed out, closing the door softly behind me.

The door at the end of the hallway was another bathroom, larger and more opulent than the first one, not to mention cleaner. The mirror at the other end of the room attracted my attention, as it showed me what I looked like.

I remembered how I used to look, and I had to approach the mirror before I could believe that the girl I was seeing was truly me. Without checking to see if the room was empty, I slid out of the satiny nightgown, to see if what I was looking at was real.

It was.

My body had slimmed up, and my eyes had become a bit larger, a darker blue, with a touch of purple in their depths. My chin was sharper than it had been, and no matter how I looked, I couldn't find that extra chin I'd had forever. My chest had shrunk, to my eyes, it looked as though I was a small C or a large B, and even my waist and hips were slimmer. The blond hair was still to my waist, but it was darker, more of a natural honey-blond instead of a bleach-blond color. My legs seemed longer, but other than that, nothing else had changed.

I judged myself in the mirror, and figured I was about 5'7" in my bare feet, about the same height as...

My mind came to a dead stop. I could conjure a face, but not a name. I raised a hand to my head, and fiddled with the white bandage that was wrapped around it. I figured I'd done some damage to my head, and that's why I couldn't remember anything.

A movement made me jump. I grabbed the satiny nightgown, and threw it over my head, then looked around to see where the sound had come. The bathtub, which I had walked right past in my stunned surprise, had someone in it.

The only thing I could see was crows-wing black hair, which triggered a vague memory of a face, but I couldn't be certain of a name, until I saw the real face.

It was the sleeping face, of a young man who had lines of anxiousness even in his sleep. Gently, I traced his face with my fingertips, and a warm feeling sprang up within. With that feeling came a name.

"Howl." I whispered. "My love.."

He stirred slightly, and I jumped back, nearly hitting the sink and almost causing an avalanche of things, but luckily, I managed to stop it in time. I breathed a sigh of relief, when Howl simply rolled over in his makeshift bed. Then, for a reason I couldn't understand, I slowly slipped into the tub next to him, and laid my head on his chest, to listen to his heartbeat.

With a soft sigh, he slid an arm around my shoulders, and I had the feeling that if I moved, I'd wake him. Something inside told me not to wake him, that he needed his sleep, so I relaxed slowly, and ended up falling asleep again.

I woke when I felt my pillow move abruptly. I mumbled a complaint, and opened my eyes with a yawn. Howl had sat up, and was looking down at me with a mixture of hope, and delight on his face.

"You moved," I yawned, sitting up. "No fair."

He smiled at me, as I rubbed my eyes, waking up again. When I dropped my hands, he pulled me to him in a fierce hug. I blinked, and looked up at him in confusion.

"Howl.? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he murmured "You're alright again. Nothing's wrong."

I tilted my head, frowning slightly. I couldn't remember what had happened to me, but from the way he was reacting, it'd had to have been bad.

"What happened?" I asked, relaxing into his hold. "I don't remember much but faces."

Howl looked down at me, mildly surprised, but was willing to fill me in.

"We went to find your friends, who left notes that they were all at your home. When we got there, you seemed happy, but you suddenly turned and ran from all of us, and out the door."

My memory began to fill itself in.

"And forgot about the broken stair," I murmured softly. "So that's why I can't remember anything."

Except you.'

The words hung unspoken between us, exchanged only with small smiles. Howl climbed out of the tub first, and offered me a hand to get me up. I took it, and scrambled out, nearly falling in my haste. Howl braced me, and when I looked up at him, I knew that I had grown. I used to fit under his arm with ease, but now, I stood just below his chin.

"I'm not short anymore.." I said, vaguely confused. "And I don't look like I used to."

"To heal you, I had to unlock the power from within you. It increased your metabolism, and increased your height," Howl explained. "Now, you're going to need to learn how to control that power, so if you like, I'll teach you."

"Of course you'll teach me," I replied, surprised. "Who else would have the patience to deal with me?"

He chuckled. I blinked, then clapped my hands over my mouth. Howl patted my head, smiling.

"There you are, Marie. Your memory may be gone, but not the things that make you who you are."

I blushed, and dropped my hands to rest at my sides. He gently took one, and led me to the stairs at the end of the hallway.

"You might not be very happy with me after this," he said, "but I moved the castle interior to your home so that you can be both with your friends. and with Calcifer... and me."

I looked up at him, and saw that he was blushing faintly. I frowned in thought, then as the door in my mind opened, I remembered Calcifer and the castle. I groaned theatrically, and rolled my eyes.

"Grand," I replied dryly. "Now there's even more to clean."

Howl looked at me for a moment, then laughed. I mock pouted, then smiled faintly, and gently tugged at his hair. It was soft, and I dropped my hand, satisfied.

"I always wondered if your hair was as soft and fluffy as it looked," I said, responding to the baffled look on his face. "So I told myself if I was ever able to find out, I would. Since I'm taller now, I decided to find out."

Howl shook his head, smiling slightly, and we descended the stairs the living room.

"I actually put that area into a tower form, so your home now has a tower on it."

I nodded, feeling suddenly shy as we walked out into the living room. Memories of this house flooded back to me, and I pushed them away, not ready to deal with the pain I knew was lurking deep inside my heart.

Faces I recognized all looked up from staring at the fire, which I realized had to be

Calcifer. All seven of them got to their feet, but stopped when I hid behind Howl. I knew they'd be confused, but until I could remember who they were, all of them at once terrified me.

"What's goin on?" A girl demanded. "Why's she hiding from us?"

"She doesn't remember us, obviously."

This was a deeper female voice, older than the rest.

"That's correct, Miss Lamia" Howl replied. "She remembers faces, but no memories of anything beyond that. I'm hoping it's only temporary, but don't swarm. Try going one at a time. It might calm her."

He gently propelled me forward, to meet the seven pairs of eyes. They all looked at each other, then a girl with green-gold eyes, and reddish-gold hair stepped forward.

She had a feline-like grace to her moves, and she was dainty with tanned skin, and an easy smile.

"Remember me Marie?" she asked gently. "It's me, Carmen."

Face matched to name, the door of memories about her began to creak open in my mind, but the other three names, those of her sisters and brother kept the door mostly closed.

"This is Lunaria, and Lamia, my sisters. We're some of your oldest friends."

Names known, I looked at Lamia, with her pale skin, light blue eyes, and lightly blond hair, and remembered her favorite stories were vampiric stories. Luna, with her icy blue eyes, and natural silver hair, could come off as cold, but her friends knew she had a good heart.

"Hey!" the silver haired boy protested. "What about me!"

"Oh.." Carmen sniffed, and I stifled a giggle. "I forgot. Luna's twin, my older, Lamia's younger brother. Frostpine."

"Frost," he grumbled.

Now the door was completely open, and I could remember most of the things we'd done as a group of friends. Frost and I had never really gotten along, because he'd always teased me, up to the point of where I refused to speak to him for days at a time, but I'd always considered him a friend.

Carmen gestured to the trio opposite her sibs.

"That's Fier, Flame, and Draco over there. Draco is Flames twin brother, and Fier is their younger sister."

Fier smiled at me, chest-length black hair framing her yellow-orange eyes. Flame and Draco shared reddish-orange hair, Draco's more red than orange, Flame's with a touch of blond. Flame's eyes were a deep, yet bright blue, and Draco had more yellow in his eyes than orange.

Memories flooded me, and my head started to throb, trying to sort them all at the same time. I looked at Luna, who was wearing her heels, and realized that now she was two inches shorter than me. I was roughly Lamia's height, which was kind of funny in itself, considering how much I'd wanted to be tall.

"I think." I hesitated. "I think I know you all now. But my head feels so scrambled right now."

Howl led me to a couch near the window, and had me sit down. I curled up, and watched them all, as they seemed to become acquainted to my distance. I put my head in my hands, and tried to think, tried to remember what might have happened to get all my friends into one place.

With a flash, my memory filled itself in, and I felt the blood drain from my face. Without a word, I bolted to my room, and shut the door behind me. Sinking down to the floor, I wept bitterly.

Now I remembered. In my moments of emotional fragility the emotions swamped me, and I was unable to contain them. I managed to crawl to my bed, and bury my face in the pillow, trying to muffle the sobs, and the pain I held.

I heard the door open, and warm arms, female arms held me.

"It's alright love," Luna soothed. "Let it all out. We all had these moments ourselves. We know if affects you much harder, because you were closer to your mother than anyone else. You shouldn't have to bury this though. We all love you. We're all here for you."

I hiccupped, sniffled, and cried, until I could shed no more tears. Luna gently wiped my eyes, and helped me to sit up. I coughed a bit, and swallowed, trying to get moisture into my mouth.

"We've done our best to explain how your moods work to Howl, but I don't think he quite understands you yet. He seemed so distraught when we wouldn't let him go and comfort you."

"I'm glad. it was you," I whispered. "Even though you claim to be heartless."

She chuckled, and patted my shoulder.

"Yeah, you're still yourself," Luna grinned. "That's good. Now you might want to go comfort your boyfriend, and reassure him that you're alright."

I wiped my eyes, knowing that I looked horrible. I could never manage to cry cutely, like girls in movies, my face goes red, and crumples up, my nose runs, and all sorts of other things. Luna shooed everyone away from my room, so that I could get to the bathroom and wash my face.

Then, entering through the new door next to my mothers room, I climbed the steps up to Howl's room and bathroom. Nervously, I knocked on his door, and when I got no answer, I opened it a half-inch, just enough to peak inside the room.

He was there, sitting with his back to the door, on his bed. I crept in, and closed the door behind me.

We stayed like that, for a moment, the Howl shifted slightly, making more room on the bed. I slipped up to the bed, and sat down near him, unsure of what to say. I couldn't offer an apology, for my nature was simply that. Confusing for most people, male or female. My friends always had me pegged, knowing when to go away, or when to approach, but Howl hadn't ever seen the changeable sides of my personality. So, after a few more minutes of silence, I decided to try and explain a bit.

"Just so you know," I began quietly. "I can't change my personality. My mood changes swiftly, with no warning, and I push people away more than I draw close to them. I've never really been able to talk to anyone about how I hurt or how I want to be alone, but I really don't.

"I've spent more time alone than many people, even my friends, know of, and I really have a hard time opening up to anyone. I cant really explain why I act this way, or who I really protect by hiding away from everyone, but..."

I wasn't really expecting Howl to shut me up by kissing me, but that was exactly what he did. I was stunned, a little unsure of where this might lead, but for the moment, it didn't go anywhere.

When he pulled back, I was able to reclaim the senses that had left me, but I didn't pull away, as I might have when I was younger.

"You don't have to explain," Howl said, gently running a thumb across my cheek. "I just have to learn more about you. I look forward to it."

I blushed, and ducked my head, as the reality of the situation finally caught up with my poor confused brain. I slowly brought my hand up to my mouth, still feeling the warmth from the kiss, and couldn't help but smile. I could feel bits of myself sliding back into place. Grief was there, but it was no longer as strong as it had been, and the feelings of acceptance from Howl, and from my friends started to drift up to heal the emptiness.

I almost asked Howl if there was anything behind the kiss, but I knew that there had been. Even though neither of us had really said anything, there was an understanding there, a pleasant bond that let me know that I was loved.

I smiled up at Howl, and took his hand.

"C'mon," I said, standing. "I'll introduce you to my friends. You know their names, but I can show you who they really are. "


	10. Chapter 9

Part 9

Slowly, life was starting to return to semblance of normalcy. Daily, my friends would argue with each other, and I would stand on the sidelines, laughing, or teasing along. Howl managed to get himself into a few scrapes with them, which was always amusing to see, and the whole atmosphere of depression that I had been feeling slowly began to fade away.

Of course, lessons with Howl were no picnic. He was a strict taskmaster, and even though he worked me very hard, he was also very gentle if I messed up. With his teachings, I began learning how to make my power stronger, how to improve my shields, and how to heal.

And that was when Alicia and Raymond made it back from where-ever they'd been teleported.

It was a rainy day, not so rainy that the cats, which had survived somehow, weren't meowing at me to go out, but rainy enough to ensure that summer was starting to move into fall. I was reading on the couch, holding down the fort, so to speak, as everyone else was off doing other things.

Lamia, Luna, Carmen and Frost had gone off to get food, non-perishables, from the stores which were still intact, and Howl had been dragged along with Fier, Flame, and Draco to see if there were any survivors.

Calcifer was my only companion, but he was sleeping, since I was lost in my book. When there was a knock at the front door, which had become the castle "color-door" as everyone else called it, I jumped, and nearly sent my book halfway across the room.

"Kingsburry," Calcifer said, looking up. "Weird."

I put one hand on my chest, trying to slow my racing heart, then retrieved my book from the floor, marked my spot, and went to answer it.

"Who do you think it could be?" Calcifer called, as I headed for the stairs to the door.

"Not a clue," I replied. "So, it's time to find out."

I opened the door, and was roughly pushed aside by two figures, who collapsed once they were just inside the door. They were both covered in a slimy substances, and mud. Their clothes were torn, some spot revealing bruises, and lacerations, but there were no broken bones, at least as far as I could tell.

Calcifer floated above my head as I shut the door, and looked down on the pair. Carefully, I nudged them both with my foot, then, after gathering up the courage, I bent down, and flipped one over, then groaned.

It was Alicia, and if it was her, then that meant the other had to be Raymond.

Unfortunately, my softer side started to nag at me, so with an effort, I picked the

unconscious girl up under her arms, and began trying to haul her up the stairs. For someone who looked so small, she was pretty heavy. By the time I got her into the bathroom on the main floor of my home, I was panting with effort.

I stripped her, and dumped her in the tub, which I started to fill. Thanks to Calcifer, all the power was back on for my house so electricity and other things worked properly. We couldn't really do anything about the loss of cable, but such was life.

I left her there to soak, once the water got high enough, and went back to look at

Raymond. I could drag him down the stairs, but stripping him and dumping him in the tub went well beyond what I was comfortable with. Hearing the glass door slide open, I breathed a sigh of relief, and went to see which group had come home first.

It was the food crew, laden down with stuff. I helped them put stuff away, then grabbed Frost and Lamia.

"Could you do me a favor?" I asked. "There's a messy, unconscious guy down there, who needs to be dumped in the bath, but I can't do it... could you?"

Frost blinked, and was confused for a few seconds, but Lamia nodded.

"Sure," she replied. "Frost'll help me carry him, then he can strip him and put him in the bath."

Frost's eyes grew wide, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"C'mon Frost," I wheedled, when it looked as though he'd refused. "You know I can't do stuff like that! It's embarrassing!"

He sighed, rolled his icy blue eyes, but followed Mia, Lamia's nickname, down to where the unconscious Raymond lay. I heard them lift him, while I went back to check on Alicia.

She remained unconscious while I scrubbed the mud and slime off her, and healed the worst of her wounds. We went through about three rounds of hot water before I judged her clean enough to be put in one of my spare nightgowns, and into a downstairs bedroom.

"Are you sure you want to let those two stay here?" Calcifer asked, as I curled back up with my book. "After all, they might start causing problems."

"What kinda problems?" Carmen stated with a feral grin. "If they make any trouble, I'll throw em out."

"Besides," I said, hiding a grin at Cam's declaration. "They've now gotten a good

demonstration of a wizards powers. They wouldn't be dumb enough to try anything, not with everyone else around."

I heard a downstairs door shut, and assumed that Frost was in the process of dragging Raymond to a room. When another door shut twice, I started getting back into my book, intent of reaching the end. I honestly didn't expect Raymond or Alicia to wake up at the very earliest, until morning, so when I heard the tread of feet which were too heavy to belong to Frost, I looked over the railing into a pair of green eyes.

I was so surprised, that for a moment, all I could do was stare.

"Where's Frost?" I finally demanded, getting my voice back. "If you hurt him, I'll..."

"You'll what?" Raymond asked, voice silky. "Hurt me? I think we both know that you're far to weak to even think of attacking me. I've have you pinned in under a minute, and then.."

I shivered, and slowly back away from the railing that separated the stairs from the living room, clutching my book to my chest. Cam and Mia both looked at me, then stepped in front, protecting me.

"Out of the way girls, I would hate to hurt such beauties as yourselves."

"Try and die," Lamia said coolly, on hand braced on her hip. "Nobody touches Marie, except Howl."

Raymond's lip curled in a sneer.

"She's mine," he said very softly. "I'm the only one who deserves her affections."

I heard the door slide open again, and I cast my glance over, praying that Howl would come in. Then I shook my head, irritated with my own cowardice.

"You don't deserve anything of mine," I snapped, readying my book to throw. "Least of all, my attention."

I hefted the book in my hands, grateful for the fact that it was a hardback book, which would cause more of an impact, then, as Raymond's attention was caught by the new group, I threw the book with all my strength. It impacted his head with a sharp thunk, and the boy was down. Cam grabbed my wrist and held it up, as if I'd just won a boxing match.

"The winnah and still champeen, Marie!"

"Cut it out," I laughed. "I was lucky that he got distracted by everyone else, otherwise he could have dodged that easily."

"What... is he doing here?" Howl asked, very softly. "Where did he come from?"

I ran my hand through my hair, and turned to face the irate wizard. When Howl got surprised and frustrated, he blew up, but when he was angry, he got calm. The calmer he seemed, the more angry he was. He wasn't very calm at the moment, just enough to ensure that I knew he didn't like the idea of Raymond in the house.

"They knocked, and fell inside when I answered the Kingsburry door," I replied, keeping my voice steady. "I figured I'd clean them up, feed them, and then throw them out."

"'They?'"

I winced.

"Alicia's here too," I admitted reluctantly. "She's asleep downstairs."

"And why did you let them in?"

"Hey now," Calcifer put in. "She already said they fell in when she answered the door."

"Yeah," Cam chimed. "She's got a soft heart, and can't stand to see anyone hurt, even people she doesn't like."

I smiled a touch ruefully. My softness had definitely gotten me in trouble before, and it looked like today was going to be no different. At least Raymond was down for the count... or so we all thought. Believing his unconsciousness, I stepped forward to retrieve my book, pointedly not making eye-contact with Howl, whom I knew would still be irritated.

My first mistake was standing a little too close to the downed male when I grabbed the book. No, wait, my first mistake was assuming he was down and out. My second was getting too close to him. Somehow, he got up faster than I believed he could, grabbed the arm that held the book, and twisted it up behind me, turning me to face my friends.

I yelped, a mixture of surprise and pain, and struggled fiercely to free my pinned arms, for he'd grabbed my other one as well.

"See," Raymond crooned. "You'll be mine, even though you're mind won't admit it."

He lowered his lips to my neck, and ran his tongue down and across my shoulder. I shivered, and remembered a lesson from my self-defense classes.

'Arms pinned? Use your feet,' the instructor had said. 'Specifically, your heel. It'll hurt more.'

So, I raised my foot, and stomped down on Raymond's toes. He growled a curse, and twisted my arms even farther up, til I was afraid they might dislocate from all the pressure. Still, stubbornness was as much a part of my personality as love and caring, so even though the pain brought me to my knees, I was already thinking of something else.

My head, I realized, was directly in line with a very sensitive part of the male anatomy. I looked up at Howl, and saw a thumbs up from Flame, so I threw my head backwards. That made Raymond loosen his grip rather fast. It hadn't been much of an impact, but it was enough that I was able to tear myself away, and put my back to my friends, instead of to him.

Luna came up the back stairs, and tossed my staff to Flame, who handed it to me. I took it, and shifted my position, til one foot was just slightly in front of the other. I wouldn't claim to be perfectly balanced, for it's hard to do that, but for my own purposes, it was good enough.

"Wait a minute," Howl protested.

I heard Luna and Lamia sit him down in a chair, and tell him to and I quote, "Watch the entertainment." I wasn't sure that I liked being regarded that way, but I pushed those thoughts from my mind, as Raymond straightened.

"Minx," he said, lips curving into a lazy grin. "You know you want me. Everyone I approach wants me."

"You coerce, rape, or otherwise make them," I replied coolly. "I happen to care for someone else, so whatever you try will have no affect on me."

"How can you like someone else, when you're obviously hungering for me?"

I snarled, and narrowed my eyes. I could hear the others shuffling around behind me, doing what, I wasn't sure, but I had the feeling that they were moving kitchen breakables out of the way.

"Yeesh," Fier said. "This guy has a death wish, getting her all pissed off like that."

"Why's that?" Howl asked.

"Because," Draco replied. "She gets downright nasty when she gets mad. She may not be able to hold a grudge for long, but if you're on the receiving end, it's best to find a hiding place until her temper blows over."

"I can hear you, you know," I smiled. "I'm trying to decide whether to be insulted or complimented."

"Be complimented," Luna laughed. "That way the poor boy doesn't actually follow his own advice."

I laughed, unable to help myself. Raymond figured that for a distracted moment, and came at me in a simple rush. I dropped under his arms, and used my staff to propel him forward, to slam headfirst into the sliding glass door.

I winced, as I saw the crack that formed in the glass, feeling more sympathy towards the house than towards the idiot who thought he could attack me and escape unscathed. Draco was right. When I get pushed, I push back, usually harder than the original shove. This day was to be no exception.

Raymond shook his head, and turned around to face me. I slung my staff over my

shoulder, and gave the sweetest, most ironic smile I could make. Everyone immediately coughed to hide laughter, even Howl, though I could see worry in those blue eyes. I smiled faintly, trying to reassure him, even though I swiftly switched my gaze to Raymond, and my mind-set became hard and unyielding.

"I let you in to heal you," I said, brandishing my staff. "Your sister as well. Tell me why I shouldn't just throw you both out and be done with it?"

"Because," Raymond groaned as he pulled away from the window. "You need me. You may not be willing to admit it, but you want this body to use as your own. Every woman does."

I heard the distinct sound of Carmen, Luna, Lamia, Flame and Fier cracking their

knuckles. I grinned, and took a couple of steps backwards, dropping my staff out of the ready position.

"Go get him girls," I smirked.

"With pleasure," came the reply.

I slid over to Howl, as the girls slid up to Raymond, death on their minds, and placed a hand on the wizards shoulder. Howl looked up at me, then without warning, pulled me down into his arms. I squeaked as he pulled me off-balance, but since I knew that he had only been worried, I didn't try to stay standing.

"You have this habit," he said quietly, dryly, "of worrying me at very inconvenient moments. Your heart is too soft for someone who acts like she doesn't care at time."

"You deserved it," I replied tartly, poking him in the chest gently. "Saying I can't cook. I can cook better than you, and more besides."

He chuckled, and captured the poking hand. I smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry I worried you, but a girls just gotta stand up for herself sometimes. Speaking of which..."

I half turned to assess the damage, and found it very satisfactory. I unwound Howls arm from my waist, and went to go stop my friends from killing Raymond.

"Okay you guys, let him go."

"Awwwwwww!" came the collective complaint.

"Don't 'awwwwwww!' me," I laughed. "Let him go. We'll lock him in the downstairs room with his sister. That should be torture enough. If you're not satisfied, I'll even use magic to keep him on the bed. It'll be better that way anyways, since he needs to be healed."

He did, and badly. Even though it went against my nature to harm people, at least when I was in a good mood and not in danger, I couldn't help but admire the job they'd done on Raymond.

Both of his eyes would be swollen for quite a few days, both lips were split and bleeding, one arm was broken, the other dislocated, his ribs were cracked, all of them, and both his legs were broken, just below the knee. Now, he was most definitely unconscious.

I felt a little ill, looking at the bruised and battered body of my tormentor. Lamia and Draco hauled him up, and totted him down the stairs, with me following behind. Lamia shifted, and opened the door one handed, revealing the room, empty except for two beds, and a still out of it Alicia, for which I was most grateful.

Draco and Lamia dumped Raymond on the other bed, and held him down while I held the worst of the injuries, like the broken legs, arm, dislocated shoulder, and almost all of his cracked ribs. Then, I used another spell to pin him to the bed, so that he couldn't get up in the night, and after we left, I magically locked the door, just in case.

After a moment, Frost stumbled down the hallway, holding his head in one hand, and his nose with the other.

"That bastard got me before I knew what was coming," he snarled, as I looked at him. "Please tell me he got his ass handed to him."

Lamia gave a feral grin, and I reached out to heal Frost. The head injury was minor, but it took a few minutes to heal the broken nose.

"Yeah, we took care of him," I said absently. "He said some very stupid things, and got everyone on him."

Frost grinned, as I stepped back to look at my handiwork. Then, I patted him on the shoulder.

"It'll be a little crooked, but otherwise, it's all healed."

We joined the others upstairs, I mourned the crack in the window, making everyone laugh, and then Fier revealed what she had found.

"There was only a few surviving children," she said. "Two of them are barely older than five, one is almost ten, and the other is three. I brought them here, since we're the only real hope they have left now."

The four children stepped forward, eyeing us with suspicion, mixed with hope. I knelt down, and gently took the three-year-old girls hand.

"What's your name?" I asked, keeping the pitch of my voice warm and calm.

"Raven," she sniffled.

"Well Raven, we're here to take care of you. Is that alright?"

My answer was the little girl burying her face in my lap, and bawling her eyes out. Taking that as their sign that we were okay people, the two five-year-olds, a boy and a girl who looked to be twins, and the ten-year-old girl crowded around me, seeking affection. I didn't mind, I'd always had a tolerance for children that outstripped the one for people my age.

Lamia and Luna picked up the twins, and held them while they cried, and Flame gently pressed the ten-year-old to her in a warm hug. It wasn't long before all the children were asleep out of relief. I carefully cradled Raven, and took her to sleep in my room.

When I returned, Howl, Draco, and Frost all seemed bewildered because we girls had immediately forgotten about them. I motioned for silence, then gestured to their rooms.

"We should all get some sleep," I murmured. "We'll need the energy in the morning. Goodnight you three."

"G'night," Frost and Draco replied, retreating to their rooms.

Now alone, Howl and I stood in the kitchen for a moment. He reached out, and gently brushed some hair from my face, and I smiled.

"Motherhood would suit you," he said softly. "But it would be better... if you were raising our own children."

With those parting words, and a very significant look, Howl went to climb the stairs to his own room, leaving me stunned in the kitchen. My face flamed, and I brought my hands up to my cheeks, trying to hide the blush. I couldn't believe he'd said something like that.

After a few minutes, I decided to put it out of my mind for the time being, since I didn't feel ready for that quite yet, and went to join Raven in slumber.


	11. Chapter 10a

Part 10a

The next morning started out uneventful. I woke up, curled around Raven, as though I'd been protecting her in my sleep, and reached over the small girl to push open the curtains, revealing yet another rainy day. I was almost tempted to go back to sleep, but I could hear others moving so I sat up, and stretched. My movements woke the young child, who yawned cutely, and rubbed at her eyes with clenched fists.

"Good morning Rae," I smiled. "Ready for breakfast?"

She nodded, and held out her arms to be picked up. I hefted her in my arms, and balanced her on my hip, before we went out to join the breakfast crew. Lamia, Luna, and Flame were up, also feeding their adoptee's, and so was Howl, who looked as though he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

I deposited Raven in Howls lap, to his surprise, and hunted the cabinets for something a small child might like. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raven snuggle up to him, and he tentatively put an arm around her. I grinned. The scene was just too cute.

"So," I said to Luna, as she came up beside me, "Do the other children have names as well?"

She snorted, and mock-smacked me. I chuckled, and soon we had one of our little play-fights going on. It was all in fun, since both of us were to child-melted to really feel animosity at anything. We had the kids giggling, and I heard a few coughs as Flame and Lamia attempted to stifle their laughter.

We bowed, then turned back to the stove, feeling silly.

"The ten year old is called River, and the twins are Echo and Myst. Echo is the boy, Myst is the girl."

"And I thought your name was weird," I teased. "I seem to be the only person here with a name that's not naturalistic."

She swatted at me with a ladle, I countered with a spatula. We grinned, and teased each other good naturedly for a bit, as the smells of breakfast began to permeate the house. I heard shuffling steps, which indicated the late-risers were following their noses to food, and began to bring more plates out from the cupboard over my head, humming cheerfully all the while.

We all settled around the main room, eating, and silent, until I brought up an obvious point.

"They'll need new clothes. Which means we'll have to go and get them."

"What, all of us?" Fier asked.

"Nah," I replied. "Someone's got to stay here and watch them all, so that they don't get into trouble. And don't look at me. I'm tired of being stuck here!"

"So, the kids stay here." Draco mused. "Maybe.."

"Don't get any ideas," I said, with a slightly malicious grin. "We need the guys to come along so that they can carry stuff."

Immediately, Draco and Frost tried to put up a fuss. That was shot down when Lamia gave them an icy look.

"Don't argue," I grinned. "You're not going to get out of it. Howl didn't protest."

"That's because I know better," came the dry retort. "Besides, arguing with you seems to be a lost cause."

I stuck out my tongue, trying not to laugh. My friends all shared grins.

"The girls will draw straws to see who remains behind. There'll only be three short ones, so that we wont be leaving too many people behind.

"And," I finished with a sly grin. "The guys get to cut the straws."

That got protested.

"Oh sure, make it our fault!"

"That's uncool!"

I sat there, arms folded. I wasn't going to budge an inch on this point, so it didn't really surprise me when the protests began to die down into grumblings about how evil I could be, and how cold I was.

"Your stalling," I commented. "Just do it already! It'll be over quick."

With sighs, Frost and Draco got to their feet, and went to get straws to cut.

By luck of the draw, it was Lamia, Luna, and Flame that had to stay behind. They

grumbled, and complained, but I could tell that they would relish a day of relaxation. Then, I grabbed a map out of the junk drawer, and told the rest where we needed to go, which was the reason the kids were staying at home.

"If we follow this road," I pointed on the map, "We ought to be able to reach the next town over, and be back before nightfall, even with the clothes and things."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Frost muttered.

"Oh hush," I retorted. "They need better clothes, and winter'll be here soon! And it's only a little rain, so stiffen your spine and deal."

He opened his mouth to make a comment that would very likely have gotten him into more than a bit of trouble, when Howl put a hand on his shoulder, and said something in his ear. Frost's shoulders slumped in defeat. Draco patted Frosts other shoulder, and I had the sneaking suspicion that they were badmouthing me, for my sharp remarks, but since I didn't want to argue, I chose to let it slide, at least for the moment.

I pulled out three of my old school bags, handed one to Cam, one to Fier, and kept the third for myself, and moved towards the glass door. I was stopped by little arms curled around my leg. I knelt down, and gently unwound Raven, before handing her over to Luna.

"We'll be back in a little bit, I promise," I said, giving the small girl a kiss on the cheek. "And we'll have new things for you."

She wailed, as all children do when separated from a parent or dependant, as Carmen, Fier, Flame, Draco, Frost, Howl and I walked out the door, heading for the next town.

The silence as we walked was so profound that we were all a little creeped out. The only noises were the sound of the wind, rain, and our footsteps, so it was hard not to feel edgy. I hoped and prayed that we would find the stores undestroyed as they had been in our town. It took the better part of two hours of walking to reach the store, and by the time we got there, we were all drenched. Flame and I exchanged rueful looks as we sneezed in unison.

"Okay, so we'll get some dry stuff for ourselves too," I said, then sneezed again. "Maybe we'll find some umbrellas or raincoats or something. Hell, even trash bags would work to keep the rain off!"

"How about we split up into pairs?" Fier suggested. "I'll go with Frost, and Carmen can go with Draco."

I shrugged, and wrung water out of my ponytail.

"Works for me," I replied. "How about you guys?"

Shrugs all around was the answer, as we split into our pairs, and headed off to find

clothing for us, then things for the children. Howl and I first headed for things to change into. I had Sophie's magic-clothes, but I liked the simplicity of changing my own clothes. Unfortunately, with my extreme growth, I had suddenly outgrown most of my skirts, dresses, pants, and smaller shirts. My oversized T-shirts still fit, but now that I was at a mall, I was going to start looking for things that were both slimmer, and taller.

I browsed for a bit, checking this pair of pants, and that skirt. Clothes shopping wasn't really my thing, so I tended to do it swiftly. And the silence in the store, except for the scuffling of everyone's feet, was pretty creepy.

When I found a pair that fit, and a shirt to go with, I ducked down and changed swiftly. My hair was wet, but there wasn't much I could do about that except wring it out a bit more, and hope it dried before we had to go back out into the rain. The long sweater was a dark maroon color, reminding me of wine, and it was soft and warm, which was a definite plus. I didn't quite realize how it flattered me until I saw myself in one of the cracked mirrors hanging from the ceiling support. My own eyes widened, and a small grin slid onto my face.

Even I had to admit that the correct clothes made me damn sexy, and the look I got from Howl when I rejoined him was definitely one for the ego boost.

"We probably should have stuck together, at least until we found some way to keep in contact," I murmured, suddenly realizing how foolish we'd all been to split up. "And we should have set a time when we all wanted to meet up. Damnit! Wish I'd thought of it earlier. I swear, sometimes I think I have no brain..."

Howl chuckled behind me, as he changed into drier clothes, then tapped my shoulder when it was safe to turn around.

"Well, we'll just have to hope that our common sense will keep us out of trouble that needs more than two people to take care of," he smiled.

I snorted, but chose to keep my smart mouth to myself. A loud crash served to put a hold on whatever Howl had been about to say, and we shared a look. I tiled my head fractionally, and he nodded. Both of us started to creep towards where the sound had come from.

We found an overturned rack, but no sign of anyone that might have caused the crash. I frowned at the mess for a minute, then started to pick through the clothes, which were about the size that Raven had been. I selected some pants skirts and shirts, then rolled them up, and stuffed them in the backpack I still wore over one shoulder.

My wet clothes were in another pocket, so that wasn't a problem. The biggest problem was lack of light. I frowned, and tried to remember the layout of the large store that was not only a clothing place.

"Something wrong?" Howl whispered, somewhere around my left shoulder. "You've been silent for a few minutes."

"Trying to remember where the flashlights are, and the batteries. That way, we'll have some light to see by, and collect by. Then, the others will know where we are as well. I'm pretty sure that Draco and Frost know Morse code..."

And my mind was off, spinning away on a maze of corridors of things, and aisles of junk. I frowned as I thought, and didn't hear Howl moving off until I suddenly realized that I couldn't feel his presence at my back. I shook my head, frustrated with my ability to get lost in my own head, and stood up carefully.

I fumbled my way to a shelf, nearly falling a couple of times in my haste. Being alone in the dark wasn't what bothered me. Being alone in the dark, with no way to be sure of where I was however... That brought the chills down my spine. I walked cautiously along the aisle, sliding my hand along the shelf, so that I could be certain that I wasn't wandering in circles, and stopped when I felt a breath of fresh air.

To be more specific, a breath of moving air. Curious, I tracked it, following the feel of the air, and the sense of strangeness that had begun to tickle the back of my head. As I approached the source, the ambient light around me increased, and I could see better than when I was in the full dark of the store. Off to my left, I found what I had been looking for. A stack of packaged flashlights, and near them, batteries. I opened one of the packages and put batteries in, stuffed two other flashlights and all the extra batteries in my backpack, then hit the on switch.

The beam of light illuminated a part of the floor that was simply covered in ceiling parts, and dust. I stifled a yell of surprise when I saw a human hand, and felt vaguely ill as I backed away from the death. I wanted to get out more than ever, but knew that first I'd have to get everyone together, pass out the lights, and have us all decide on a time to leave. It wasn't going to be easy. Almost at once, I started wondering when had I, the most irresponsible one in the group, started taking on leading us out of this mess of a life?

I shook my head, and smiled faintly. Who'd have ever thought that I'd be the one in charge of this crazy little group? Certainly not me! I never thought of myself in any way a leader of people. I was good at organizing, when I felt like it, and if I put my mind to it, I could clean my room in a day, but that usually happened only if I wanted to. Not that often at all.

Still, at the moment, I had other things to do, so I pushed all the obscure, and frankly amusing, thoughts out of my mind, and started flashing the light up at the ceiling, in rapid code. It wasn't too long before everyone found me. I grinned, and handed the flashlights to Draco and Frost, while explaining what I'd thought. They agreed, and after a few minutes of discussion, we all decided that we'd meet at the entrance in two more hours, which would give us time to walk home. No one had found raincoats or umbrellas or anything like that, but all-together, barely a third of the store had been covered, so it was agreed that when someone found something useful, other than the rain boots I noticed Fier and Frost had picked up, they would signal to the others by flashing their light three times at the ceiling.

Then, the pairs left, and I went looking for Howl. I felt a niggling sense of worry, when he hadn't responded to the flashlight signal, but I pushed it away. He would be alright. He was a wizard, stronger and older than myself, as well as fully trained, so he had to be alright.

He just had to be...


	12. Chapter 10b

Part 10b

Two hours passed, and now I was not only worried, I was starting to feel frightened. Howl had not turned up, and we'd covered the entire store, looking for him. I bit my lip, knowing that the others weren't going to like my idea, and resigning myself to the fact that I had to do this by myself.

"So," Fier asked. "What now? Howl's not back yet, but we've got to go before it gets much darker."

I slung my backpack in Frosts direction and gave a wry smile.

"You're not going to be very happy with my idea, but you're not going to make me change my mind." I took a deep breath. "I'm going out to find him."

"WHAT!"

I flinched at the combined raised voices, and then at all the refusals that they started to give me. Without giving them much of a chance to argue, which was actually a little funny, I held up my hands, in hopes that they'd listen to me. To my surprise, they all shut up. I blinked, then launched into what I had wanted to say, not about to waste this moment of obedience.

"I know that I'm going to be all alone, and that having all of you around would probably be safer, but," I held up my hand, staving off the fresh waves of protest. "But, you're just going to have to trust me when I say that I have to do this. Besides, with what we've raided from this place, we won't need to leave home for a while. Don't worry so much, I don know how to take care of myself, in case you can't remember."

There were some grumbles, and a few half-hearted protests, but I folded my arms, and they all recognized the stubborn look and set I had to my shoulders. With sighs, they all gave in, and started to leave. Fier lingered behind, and pressed another package of batteries into my hand.

"You be careful," she said. "Flame would kill us, if anything happened to you because of your stubbornness."

I grinned, and ruffled her hair.

"I'll be fine," I said. "I have my shields, and if I can't turn food into a weapon, I shall be very disappointed in myself."

She chuckled at me, and waved, before running to catch up to the rest. I turned back to the pitch black store, and suppressed a shiver of nerves. The flashlight beam cut through the darkness, and every nerve of mine was on alert, just waiting for trouble. I stopped in the middle of one aisle, and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

"This is ridiculous!" I told myself sharply. "Stop being such a fraidy cat! There's nobody around... now, calm down, find Howl, and get the hell out of here!"

I searched the store twice over, and my anger at Howl's disappearance was starting to give way to fear. It gnawed at the edge of my mind, until I couldn't take it anymore. I sunk to my knees in the middle of the store, placed the flashlight gently on the floor so that the beam lit up the are in front of me, buried my face in my hands, and cried.

'Howl... where are you?' I wanted to wail. 'You've gone and left me here, alone! I'm so scared...'

I'm not sure how long I knelt there, locked in misery, but after a few minutes, I felt a feather-light touch on my shoulder. I scrubbed at my eyes, picked up the flashlight, and looked up. It was Howl! He smiled down at me, with that infinite patience of his, and though I knew I should be furious with him, I couldn't feel anything but relief. I threw my arms around him, and buried my face in his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly. "I noticed that everyone else left already... Why not you?"

Now I could get angry. I pushed away from him, stood up, and glared.

"You sapskull!" I snapped. "Why did you leave without telling me! I was worried sick about you!"

"Ah.."

"And another thing!" I was pacing back and forth now, gesturing with my hands in irritation. "You didn't have a flashlight! How the hell was I supposed to find you if I didn't know where you were! I thought you had more sense than that Howl! Gah!"

I threw my hands up in the air, and turned my back on him. I crossed my arms, and fumed in silence.

"I'm sorry."

And just like that, irritatingly enough, my anger went away, like water down a drain. My shoulders sagged, and my head drooped.

"You frightened me," I whispered. "I thought you'd never come back. Promise me you won't do something like that ever again. At least tell me first, so that I don't worry so much."

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and gently kissed the side of my neck.

"I promise," he breathed in my ear. "Now, lets go home."

"First," I said, regaining my asperity, if not my anger. "You're going to tell me why you vanished, and where you went."

He shrugged, and I felt my annoyance flare.

"Howl..." I began to tap my foot in impatience.

"I thought I heard voices that didn't belong to our family, and decided to check them out," the wizard relied, unflappably calm. "There were a few soldiers hanging about, but they called this place 'a dead town' and left almost as soon as they arrived."

"That doesn't explain why you were gone for almost three hours.." I grumbled.

"I wanted to make sure they were out of town.." he replied blithely unaware of my newly reinforced desire to pound him. "So I followed them. They appear to have a base in Silverroot."

"You walked... all the way to Silverroot? That's almost 50 miles from here! ... Sheesh... no wonder it took you forever."

Howl chuckled, as we walked towards the front of the store.

"No, I didn't walk. I flew."

I thought about the implications of that, and decided that I really didn't want to know. so I swatted him gently on the head, and opened the umbrella that I'd hooked onto the belt-loop of the jeans I was wearing.

"Come on you idiot," I said affectionately. "Let's just go before this place really starts giving me the creeps."

"What happened to your backpack?" Howl asked, falling in step beside me.

"Gave it to Frost," I replied. "And believe you me, it took a lot of convincing for them to go away so that I could look for you. What would you have done if I hadn't been here?"

"Probably walked home."

I snorted, and refused to talk to him the rest of the way home.

When we got home, there were cheers and scolds, directed at both of us. I took mine in stride, grinning and making smart-ass comments in return for scolds, and Howl, as always, seemed to not care about the scolds, which were sharper than my own.

"So, who's up for movies?" I asked, folding the umbrella, and shaking off my shoes.

"Movies!" came the cheer.

"What kind?"

"Comedy!"

"Romance!"

"Horror!"

"Fantasy!"

"Anime!"

"Sci-Fi!"

If it was possible for me to grow an anime sweatdrop, I would have done it then. I

muttered very softly about everyone's different tastes, then decided to do inka bink. After a few rounds, it was decided on Horror, Comedy, and Anime. However, first there were the kids to get occupied in other things. Raven, Echo and Myst were easy, they were so tired they could barely stand up. It was decided that I'd give up my room, so that they could sleep on the bed. River however, was determined to watch all three movies with us, and nothing Flame or I said could convince her otherwise. Finally, we told her she could watch the Comedy and the Anime, but not the Horror.

It was a stretch, but we finally got the girl to agree to it. Especially when we made the horror movie that last one in the line.

Luna and Lamia got busy making the popcorn, Flame picked out the sodas and everyone else started looking through the movies, deciding which comedy, anime and horror flick they wanted to watch. I went down to the room where Alicia and Raymond were, took a deep breath, and dropped the shield on the door. Almost at once, there was shouting, and Howl immediately joined me. I gave him a frosty look, I wasn't about to be happy with him for a bit, and opened the door.

"Shut up!" I yelled. "You're being annoying!"

All that did was get the decibels lowered a few notches. Alicia, when she saw Howl, launched herself at him while I had my back turned, re-locking the door, so that they couldn't get out. Turning to see Alicia in Howl's arms was just another twitch to my slowly dissolving patience. Raymond, I knew would have tried the same thing, but since he was pinned to the bed, I was safe from that type of amorous intent. Howl managed to push Alicia off of him, giving me a pleading look in the process. I rolled my eyes, but nodded slightly.

After Howl had convinced her to unlatch, my magic swept her back onto her bed, and pinned her there, unable to move. That had the unfortunate side-effect of making her scream. High-pitched and loud. Another notch off my patience, and another spell took away her voice.

"Consider yourselves lucky I decided to bring you food," I said crisply, setting a tray on the floor between the two beds. "And didn't come to throw you out yet.

"Yet, being the key word in that phrase. By all rights, I should have thrown you," I pointed to Raymond, who still had two shiners, and split lips. "Out after what you tried to do yesterday. Consider the fact that I have an extremely large amount of patience, and the more you wear on it, the less time you get to spend recuperating."

Alicia closed her mouth, and Raymond attempted to look at me. I released the spell on both of them, so that they could eat, and took the energy that had been holding them, reshaping it into a wall between us, Howl and myself, and them, Raymond and Alicia. The both ran headfirst into it, providing a bit of entertainment. I flirted a wave at them, and turned to leave.

"I'll be back to collect the dishes after we're done with the movies. See ya then."

I swept out the door, intent on going into the TV room, but Howl caught my wrist,

preventing me. Another notch off my patience. When I turned to look at him, my gaze was anything but warm.

"What?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

"Why are you so upset?"

I paused, and frowned. My mood had been shifty all day, more so than usual. That

meant... I gave a slightly malicious grin.

"It's a girl thing," I replied sweetly. "Hasn't started yet, but the mood swings indicate it will soon."

The look on Howls face almost made me bust out laughing. My irritation vanished like a breeze, and I switched the grip so that now I was the one holding onto his arm, and dragged him into the room where everyone else was.

Fier Frost, Draco and Carmen all shared the couch, with Luna and Lamia occupying the chairs to either side, and Flame sitting on the back of the couch. They'd been kind enough to find the beanbags and get blankets so that Howl and I could curl up in at least, some comfort, then the movie fest started.

The comedy was good. Even River got most of the jokes which would have gone past me if I were her age. The anime was just as good. After that, I picked up the sleeping River, and carried her upstairs to my room, while the others traded spots, and grabbed the last movie. I had a feeling that I would regret seeing it, and boy was there ever a time that I wished to be wrong. Still, I had promised that I'd watch the movie, and breaking promises wasn't my style. Besides, if I got scared, there was always Howl to hold onto... or so I thought.

When I got back downstairs, Howl had been sandwiched on the couch, between Draco and Frost, leaving the floor to me. I muttered some very choice words about boyfriends who abandoned their girls to terror, and sat down, praying that it hadn't been Lamia who'd picked out the movie.

It had. For the next two or so hours, I was curled up on the floor, terrified, while everyone else was enthralled by the freaky film. I did manage to muffle my screams, so that only a few strangled whimpers came out, but when the movie was over, I was in no way ready to go to sleep.

It was just my luck that everyone else was. So, with a sigh, I went upstairs and curled up on the couch, dragging a blanket over me. I tried to fall asleep, but my mind was too active, too jumpy. I tossed and turned for a long time, before I finally fell asleep. Unfortunately, restful was not in my vocabulary that night.

I woke up, just as I fell off the couch. It hurt, a little, but even though I knew dream from vision, I couldn't stop myself from shaking. I shook my head, and went into the kitchen to warm up some milk for hot chocolate, in hopes that it would settle my nerves.

I don't know why Howl came down, or why he had to scare the living daylights out of me, even if by accident, but he did, and he did. I stifled the yelp of surprise by biting the inside of my cheek, and would have fallen backwards, I think I jumped almost three feet up, if Howl hadn't been directly behind me.

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to slow my heart which felt like it was pounding at a rate of 90 mph, while Howl gently closed his hand over mine on the saucepan handle.

"Don't... do that!" I gasped, feeling a bit more like myself. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," he replied. "I just felt like a little midnight snack. I didn't mean to frighten you."

He was sincere, but the look he gave me was a calculating one, and I realized that my PJ's were rumpled, and a mess. I knew I looked horrible, despite my attempts to hide it. Once the milk was ready, I got the cocoa mix down, and spooned it into two cups, then handed one to Howl, and went to sit on the couch again.

Howl joined me a minute later, as I sipped the hot drink, and tried to calm down.

"You don't much like horror movies, do you?" he asked.

I smiled wryly.

"I like them. Being scared is a little fun. But..." I shivered, despite the hot chocolate. "Being scared alone isn't."

Howl slid an arm around my shoulders, and carefully pulled me closer. I leaned against him, sipping and thinking, and slowly getting calmer. I emptied my cup, and reached out to set it on the table, which I'd almost run into when I'd fallen of the couch.

"Would you like to stay with me tonight?"

I looked up at him, wondering if he'd asked because he felt I needed the company... or if there was some other motive. Mentally, I shook myself.

'Stop being an idiot,' I scolded. 'He's Howl for cryin out loud. He cares about you.'

I nodded, and accepted the hand he offered me. We went up the stairs to his room, and curled up together under the blanket. For a while, we just lay there, simply being together. I heard Howl's breathing deepen, and smiled at his sleeping face. No trace of worry, only peace. I gently smoothed some of his hair away from his eyes, and finally was able to drop off myself, into peaceful and fun dreams.


	13. Chapter 11

Part 11

I woke slowly, feeling more at ease than I had ever felt, well, at least recently. I was warm, and comfortable, and even though I didn't want to move, I knew I had to. I was awake after all. I yawned, and stretched, then pushed myself into a sitting position.

Howl's arm, which had been draped over my waist slipped onto my lap, and I smiled fondly at his sleeping form. He was easier to deal with when he was half awake, because then he didn't bother contradicting what I said. Of course I tended to tease him to wake him up anyways. It was fun to wake him up with a sarcastic remark that he couldn't argue with until he was fully-functional.

Still, there was a right time, and a wrong time for such teasing, and I was feeling nice, other than the cramps in my gut. So, I quietly slipped out of bed, and left, closing the door softly behind me.

Going downstairs, I heard the voices of my friends, and resigned myself to the knowing grins, but if anyone commented... well, my aching gut would be more than enough of a reason to smack someone upside the head.

Luna and Flame exchanged the knowing looks, which I ignored, but when Draco opened his mouth, I conjured up the darkest glare I could, and aimed it in his direction.

"Comment and I get to throw you head first out the nearest window. Got it?"

He closed his mouth with a snap. I continued into the kitchen, and rummaged through the medicine cabinet, looking for something to ease my cramps. It was plain that this set of days was going to be very uncomfortable, for me, and for the people who got in my way.

After finding what I needed, and gulping it down, I slugged my way over to the couch, picked up a book, and curled up, waiting for the meds to take effect. Howl slouched down the stairs about ten minutes later, robed, and ready for breakfast. The door to my room opened, and the four kids piled out, all happy, and hyper. I shook my head as they ran around Howl, and into the living room to accost the people they'd identified as parents.

I was a little surprised to see how everyone had paired off. I'd known that Frost and Fier had an underground romance going, but Draco and Carmen, well that was definitely new. The twins had gone to Fier and Frost, and River went to Carmen and Draco. I saw Luna, Lamia and Flame all breath quite relieved sighs, as Raven bounced up on the couch beside me.

Before she could say anything, I patted her head absently, then remembered what I'd meant to do last night. I groaned, recalling the dishes I'd left in the room where Alicia and Raymond were. I really didn't want to go back down there, especially not when I felt like this. I knew that for at least two days, my magic would be inaccessible, which meant I would have no protection against that idiots amorous attempts, nor would I have the strength to actually lift and throw.

I sighed, and looked up at the ceiling, tuning out the chatter of my friends, who were discussing starting a game-tournament downstairs. Raven climbed onto my lap, and looked at the book, though she couldn't read it. The couch sunk a little as Howl joined us, and she bounced over to him.

"What's on your mind?" Howl asked, handing a cup of juice to Raven. "It doesn't look like you're very happy."

"Eh? Oh... I left the dishes downstairs last night."

I felt him stiffen, and nodded.

"My thoughts exactly..."

"So, just leave them down there," Carmen said, giving Draco a light shoulder punch for a muttered comment that I pretended not to hear. "After all, they can't do much damage with plates, cups, and silverware, can they?"

I looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"If they break the cups and the plates, and actually have the brains to use the silverware, yeah, they can."

"Oh... I thought you gave them paper and plastic, not the good stuff."

I laughed softly, ruefully.

"I actually wish I'd thought of that," I sighed. "But I didn't. Anyone wanna volunteer to take care of the two idiots downstairs? Or should we just throw them back to Kingsburry?"

Throwing them out seemed to be the popular vote. I looked at Howl and Lamia, who nodded, and went to the downstairs room to fetch the pair of idiots.

I put Raven on the couch, and handed her one of my old kids books, then went to open the door, red up. Immediately, sunshine flooded through the windows, and threw rainbows onto the floors, thanks to the crystals that my mother had hung long before. Howl and Lamia drug Raymond and Alicia up the stairs, and pushed them out the door.

"We've decided that it's time for you to go home," I said. "So, Have fun, and if you know what's good for you, you'll leave us alone."

I shut the door in their stunned faces, turned the door back to where it had been, and sighed as rain pattered down again.

"I swear, this weather is mocking me."

Waii I got a review!

Sad to say, no, I didn't think about that at all while I was writing it.. If I do a re-write (Might) I'll be sure to include that ;


	14. Chapter 12

Part 12

Two weeks later, everyone was snippy and snappy. The weather, as I'd said, was mocking me. It rained the entire time, leaving us all with cabin fever, and short tempers. The children were hyper, bouncing off the walls with nothing to occupy their attentions for very long, and the rest of us were short tempered about being stuck together with no chances to get out.

I was mostly avoided, because I was irritatingly calm. I liked days where I was stuck inside, with books to read, and stuff to draw. I could easily keep myself entertained with very little effort, and in the process, I was teaching Raven, Echo and Myst the basics of reading.

Which was half the reason they were so hyper.

I sighed, and decided maybe it'd be best for everyone to go out, even if we all got rain soaked. It was obvious if everyone was stuck inside much longer, serious tempers would flare, and damage would be done. I closed my book with a snap, and stood up.

"Alright, rain or no rain, we have got to get away from each other." I smiled slightly, taking the sting out of the words. "I'd rather not have people break bones here, so let's see if anywhere else is sunny enough that we can go wandering, or something."

That made all the snarling stop, mid-phrase. It was kinda nice to see everyone perk up. Howl, of course, had left well before anyone else was awake, therefore escaping the days round of snarls and growls.

Since he was gone, I decided to find out what the green color would lead to. It flooded the house with sunshine, and everyone tumbled out the front door, eager to escape each other. I paused, being the last to leave, and looked around, in awe.

It was a field of flowers, with pools of water mixed in among them. I saw Lamia and Luna shove Frost and Draco in, then jump in themselves. Soon enough, everyone was splashing around, reveling in the sunlight and the smell of the flowers. The kids became entangled in a game of tag, running though the flowers. And me? I picked a spot as far away from the others as I felt safe, and simply laid down among the flowers.

It was nice to be out in the sun after two straight weeks of rain. I looked up at the slightly cloudy sky, breathed in the flower scent, and smiled. This place was perfect for a get-away, I could see why Howl hadn't mentioned it before now.

I pulled my sweater off, and used it as a pillow, drinking in the sunshine. It didn't matter that I was only in my bra, and a pair of ill fitting shorts, I was content. I could hear the shrieking laughter of the children, and the yelps and yells of my friends who were in the water. I assumed that the girls had gone down to bras and panties, and the guys, all two of them, were in their boxers, but peace and a languid feeling had settled over me. I felt no desire to check, since my friends were all more than capable of taking care of themselves.

I wriggled out of my shorts, and stuffed them under my sweater, and just lay there,

watching the clouds. Footsteps alerted me to the presence of someone else, and I rolled onto my stomach to see who it was.

Howl was standing barely three feet away, looking in the direction of the loud swimmers and game players. I grinned evilly, and snuck up on him, still clad only in my unmentionables. To top matters off, my plan was to pounce on him from behind, and attempt to scare the living daylights out of him. After all, fair was fair, since he'd done the same thing to me, more than once, I might add.

I smirked slightly, and pounced! He let off a very surprised yelp, and went forward, landing face first in the soft grasses. I laughed like a maniac, and rolled off of his back. I might not have been able to see the expression on his face, but the reaction was well worth the attempt. Howl rolled over, looking very disgruntled, as I wiped tears of laughter off my face.

"You should see yourself," I snickered, still trying to calm down. "Oh that sulky look on your face..."

And I just curled up, with fresh bouts of laughter. Howl did look really sulky and irritated that I'd gotten the better of him. I playfully messed with his hair.

"Lighten up, and join in the fun," I grinned. "Everyone else is!"

In a tiny corner of my mind, I was speculating what he thought about my current state of dress, or practically lack thereof. I tugged at the jacket he was wearing, then with a whoop, I got it off, and took off running. It took his brain maybe ten full seconds to realize what I'd done, before he came after me.

"Hey girls!" I hollered, waving the coat above my head, grinning impishly. "Who wants to play keep away!"

They piled out of the water, and joined me. We passed the jacket back and forth, making Howl, Frost, and Draco have to work to catch us. And we got the younger kids into it, tripping up the guys whenever possible.

It was almost night before Howl finally retrieved his jacket. Actually, he'd tackled me and tickled until I gave up. A few hours earlier, the children had all curled up in a heap, near the lake where everyone'd been swimming. They looked so cute, that none of us had the heart to disturb them.

The stars were starting to come out above us, and instead of going back to the house, none of us wanted to be inside anymore, we held a barbeque out under the stars. It didn't take much convincing to get Calcifer to join us, and he became a cheerful, moving torch, after lighting the grill.

"Ah," Cam sighed, munching on a burger. "This is the life. How this place escaped the ravages of the war, I don't know, but it's a damn good thing! This is a mini paradise!"

Everyone else agreed. I smiled faintly, and looked up at the sky over my head. Thousands of stars flooded the sky, and the moon was just barely rising over the hills that surrounded the mini-paradise.

After about an hour, Luna, Lamia and Flame went in, to get blankets and pillows so that they could sleep out under the stars, just like the kids were. Fier and Frost went off in one direction, talking quietly, while Draco and Cam went off in another, not talking at all. The trio of girls curled around the children to protect them, just in case, leaving Howl and myself to wander the flowers together.

"Where did you leave your clothes?"

I shrugged.

"Somewhere?" I offered.

Howl rolled his eyes, and chuckled. I stretched out my arms, and spun in circles a few times, before I actually succeeded in stumbling, and landing in Howl's arms. I grinned, feeling very accomplished, and happy. Howl smiled down at me and I reached up for a kiss. It was just as good as I'd remembered from the first kiss. I felt free, nothing could bog me down.

Well.. Almost nothing. Somehow, I think it had something to with the fact that Calcifer was out with the rest of us, Alicia and Raymond had found their way into our little hideaway paradise. Of course, since none of us had seen them, we had effectively removed them from thought. With me and Howl locked in a kiss that, to me could have led to something more, it was no wonder that both of us were taken by surprise when Raymond and Alicia came out of no where, shouting something at the top of their lungs!

I yelped in surprise, and ducked behind Howl. The last thing I wanted was for Raymond to see me in my current state of semi-nudity. Raymond came fast and high, launching a haymaker at Howls face, but it was deflected by a shield spell that Howl had thrown up the minute he'd recovered from the shock of suddenly being attacked.

The red-haired moron backed off, shaking his hand, and glowered at Howl from a safer distance. Howl draped his coat over me, and folded his arms. I pulled my arms through the sleeves, and closed it tightly around me, before conjuring a light ball so that we could see better than with the sliver of a moon that hung high overhead.

Raymond and Alicia flinched in the light from the globe, but beyond that, they didn't seem intimidated. Rather Raymond, who's eye were no longer swollen shut, roamed up and down my figure. I shuddered, feeling nauseous from the attention. Howl draped an arm around my waist, and pulled me close. Automatically, I leaned into the gesture, and was comforted.

It was kinda funny to see the smug, superior looks that the twins were giving change into blind rage. To add insult to injury, I tilted my head up, and kissed Howl on the cheek. Oh boy did that get them going.

"Take your hands off him/her!" the yelled, furious.

"Let work this to the max," I whispered in Howls ear. "I'll buy you time to figure out how to get them to go away."

I sauntered forward, using every bit of the girl-power that I knew I had, but often didn't acknowledge. In other words, I turned on the charm, and set about distracting Raymond and Alicia. In the most evil, and coldest way possible.

"Now then, you can't really think you have a chance with me," I turned an indifferent glance to Raymond. "You're nowhere near the kind of person I would ever think of dating. You're arrogant and rude, and you have no respect for the fact that I am a woman who can make her own decisions, without the advice of a man!

"I am old enough to know my own heart and my own self, without looking to someone else to help me quantify me. I am able to know my own worth, and deposit my affections onto someone I know will respect and love me for my wacky and individual self."

I lifted my chin, and stared directly into those flashing green eyes, defiantly.

"That's why I love Howl. He takes me as I am, faults and all."

It was out in the open now, and I'd said it loud enough for him to hear me. My eyes were sharp and narrow as I looked at Raymond, who looked stunned, and furious.

"How could you love someone like that?" he finally spat. "He's skinny!"

"Slender and strong. He doesn't need to show it off," I commented.

"And ugly!"

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think he's handsome."

"And stupid!"

My hand came up and slapped Raymond so fast that even I was a little surprised. Then, I slapped him again for good measure.

"He is ten times the man that you could ever hope to be," I snarled. "And if you ever think to insult him in my presence again, you will regret every word you say."

"How do you know Howl returns your affections?" Alicia demanded.

I hesitated. That was my question too...

"I do," came the calm reply. "She is fun, and carefree, and even sharp, when she has to be. She has an inner beauty that shines stronger than many others, especially yours, Alicia Cooper.

"Marie has a wonderful spirit, and is the gentlest girl I've met in the longest time. I can easily say that I love her, as much as she claims to love me."

Well, my heart just about stopped. I hadn't expected such a speech, and I felt my face get warm, as Howl moved up to stand beside me. It was a good thing, since I was left completely speechless, and Raymond was about to renew his verbal attacks. Howl snapped a hand up, and though Raymond looked to be speaking, I could hear nothing. Shortly after, Raymond closed his mouth, looking extremely frustrated.

"Now that I have your attention, listen well." Howl's voice was cold, almost glacial. "It is only because Marie has such a gentle soul that I will not kill you, though in my opinion, you both would be better off as a smear on the..."

He looked at me.

"A smear on the pavement?" I offered, dry mouthed.

"Yes, exactly. A smear on the pavement. Next time we meet, however, I will not be so forgiving."

Alicia looked ready to protest, but another hand snap, and her voice was also gone. Then, Howl snapped his fingers, and both vanished. As our distractions vanished, and silence, real silence descended, I felt an uneasy stirring in my gut. Sure, we'd said what we'd said, but with that staring me in the face, now I couldn't feel anything but shy.

"I'm not... that gentle," I finally said.

Howl laughed.

"Yes you are," he replied, running a hand through my hair. "You act tough, but you're the kindest girl I've met. Even though you hate him so, you didn't want to kill him, and in front of you, I cannot. It would change your whole perspective of me."

I looked up at him, shy, but quite willing to take this wherever it might go.

"I admit," I smiled, "that I'm not exactly the killing type, but I've seen blood before. I wouldn't mind if they were gone forever..."

I paused, then sighed, having to admit that Howl was right. It had taken an effort to say those words.

"Okay, so maybe I'm too nice for my own good... Is it too much to want people to get along?"

Howl wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my head.

"You've been playing peace-maker all this time," He murmured. "I've seen you holding onto your own temper, even though you wanted to hit something. You are, quite simply, a nice person who hates to see others in pain. You patch up more hearts than the others realize, but you don't often take time for yourself. I think that today..."

He nibbled gently at my neck, and a tingle traveled up my body.

"Today, shall be a day for you to be rewarded for all of your love."

I honestly didn't know what to do. Howl released my waist, gently took my hand, and pulled me towards the small house that I had seen earlier in the day. I followed, feeling nervous, and excited, and at the same time, a little dazed. I couldn't really believe that this was happening, but when the door closed behind me, it became very real.

My heart leapt into my throat, and my stomach did flip-flops. I had no idea as to what I was getting myself into, having never been in any type of relationship other than friendly before. Howl seemed to sense my nervousness, and gently pulled me into a warm hug.

"Relax," he whispered in my ear. "I'm here. This will be as pleasurable as I can make it."

I shivered, this time, with a feeling of anticipation. Slowly Howl caressed my back, and I began to relax against him. This wasn't so bad, in fact, it felt really nice. He pulled me along with him, until he was sitting on the bed, and I was on his lap.

Howl was doing everything he could to alleviate me nerves, and even now I have to admit he did a damn good job of it. It started off very soft and sweet, long warm kisses, his hands still moving soothingly up and down my back. Slowly, we both got a little bolder, Howl undoing my bra, and kissing down the side of my neck. I arched my back, awash in these new sensations that were traveling through my body.

I whimpered softly, as Howl worked his way down my shoulder, to my chest, where he paid special attention to my breasts. He licked gently, eliciting another whimper from me, then nibbled, very lightly.

I had never experienced this type of pleasure before. I squirmed in his hold, wanting him more than I'd ever wanted anyone else before. He switched to the other breast, and began to tease that one as well. I arched my back, trying for something I knew was there, but couldn't get at. He was still wearing his pants. Talk about frustrating!

He moved from my chest, back up to my neck, and again to my mouth, stifling the moans I was giving off. My hands were busy fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, which I finally got off of him.

Then suddenly, I was no longer on his lap, no, I was under his body, as he pulled us both back onto the bed. I was a little surprised, but no so much so that I couldn't react as his hands moved from my back. My hands began to trace against Howl's firm chest, as he pulled off his pants, and boxers, then my own soaked panties.

Kisses again, but this time they were more than simple kisses. Passion inflamed me, filled me almost to bursting, and I cried out as he kneaded my chest.

"Ready?" he asked, rough voiced.

For a few seconds, I hesitated, then, I nodded.

"Yes."

He positioned himself and thrust. Pain was swiftly swamped by pleasure as he slowly moved in and out, bringing me to new heights. I was panting, unable to really do anything except bring my hips up to meet his downward thrusts. Higher, and higher I flew, until at least, with a scream that was muffled by Howls kiss, I plummeted down, back into my body, as I came. Seconds later, Howl's own pleasured cry was muffled by my lips, as he shot off inside of me.

He collapsed on top of me, and with both of us spent, I saw no reason to really move... well, other than the fact of me being unable to breath. With effort, I wriggled out from under Howl, so that I was on the outside lip of the bed, and curled up using one of his arms as a pillow. I heard his breathing come down from the heavy panting to a somewhat normal rate, and turned in his arms, to look at him.

Both of us were sweat-soaked, and I felt so tired, but as Howl focused on me, I forced my fluttering eyelids open, so that I could at least attempt to have pillow talk. Or something. He gently smoothed some of my hair away from my face, and gently kissed me again.

"You're something else," he whispered.

I smiled faintly, and curled up just a little more.

"I could say the same thing about you," I murmured, gently poking his chest. "That was..."

Words failed to explain that feeling that burned in my chest, the warmth and the love I felt. I yawned, and felt myself slipping into dreams. The last thing I knew, Howl had gently brushed my lips with his own, and then, the darkness of slumber enveloped me.


	15. Chapter 13

Part 13

The warm feeling and faint light of sunshine sliding over my face woke me early the next morning. For a minute, my groggy mind refused to contemplate even moving. The bed was comfy, and the man... well, I don't think I'll go into that one. But, after a few minutes, I realized that sleep was the last thing I wanted, so I decided to get up, and see about an early morning swim, to wash the remainder of the nights activities away.

Careful, so as not to wake Howl, I slid out from between his arms, picked up my

discarded bra and panties, and slid out the door. Not more than fifteen feet away, I saw my discarded sweater and shorts damp in the dew covered grass. After putting my underclothes on, they'd serve in place of a swimsuit, at least for the moment, I laid the sweater and shorts on the landing leading to the small house, hoping that the early sunshine would dry them out.

Then, just for the hell of it, I pulled my hair tie off, and unbraided my hair. It had been a long time since I'd let my hair out, and just for a while, I wanted to enjoy the feeling of a breeze teasing my hair this way and that, and the water pulling it in all directions at once.

Thanking the goddess that I'd chosen to wear dark purple underthings, I headed for the nearest pool, and braced myself for a cold morning shock as I jumped in. To my surprise, and delight, the water was warm, just above my natural body temperature, with none of the egg-smell that was normally associated with a hot spring.

I swam in blissful silence, working out the kinks, and the small aches that the sex had given me, before getting comfortable enough to simple float on my back in the water, completely content. I hadn't anticipated anyone coming out to join me, so when I heard, or rather, felt a splash, I pulled my feet under me, and stood, purposely draping my hair to cover my bra and chest.

When I saw that it was Cam and Fier, both looking exactly as I assumed I had, I grinned. The both joined me, and we spoke in quiet voices, not in details, well not many, of how our 'firsts' were. Cam and Draco had surprisingly done soft and slow. Fier complained that she felt like she was walking a little weird because of how many times that she'd done it with Frost. I left details out, but soon enough, we were all giggling from our mutual encounters.

Soon enough though, I realized I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, and with a smile and an apology, I climbed out, and headed for another, more remote pool. This time, I decided not to wear my unmentionables, and slid into the water without even a splash. I swam a few laps, then sat in the shallow, chin resting on my knees, watching to color of the sky change, and the water sparkle.

It was pure heaven, just being there, by myself, with nature. I could allow my mind to drift, could allow some memories, painful ones, to come surfacing up, and cry for them, unashamed of the tears. I knew that when I went back home, I'd need to go through my mothers things. Decide what to keep out, what to box up, and what to dismantle was already taxing heavily on my heart. The scenery around me blurred completely away as I brought my hands up to cover my face.

I knew that I was holding myself back, feeding myself through the cycle of pain, but I wasn't yet ready to let go. My friends, and lover were wonderful distractions, but even with them, I needed something more. I missed my mother, and wished desperately to see her, at least one more time to say the good-bye that I never got to.

Warm arms enfolded me, pulling me close, comforted me. There were no words needed, everything seemed to be understood. When I had cried myself out, and simply lay limp in his arms, Howl used a corner of his jacket to wipe my eyes.

"You hold much inside, don't you?"

I nodded listlessly.

"Why?"

I coughed slightly, and felt vaguely surprised when Howl cup a hand, then dripped some water into my mouth. I swallowed, starting to feel a little more alive.

"Because," I said quietly, not meeting his worried eyes. "I don't want anyone to worry about me. It's easier for me to keep quiet about how I really feel, so that everyone else can be happy. I don't like having people worried about me."

"Why's that?" His voice was genuinely curious, and I couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Because, for years I've told myself that I'm strong. I don't need others around to talk to or to tell secrets to. I'm a loner-girl by nature. I don't like a lot of people knowing my inner secrets, so I don't tell anyone anything. It's just... easier that way..."

I looked out over the water, glad to have said something, but unhappy to have said

anything at all. My secrets were mine to keep or divulge, and having anyone know how I kept everything inside, was just inviting someone to become over-protective and worried to boot.

So, when Howl threw me bodily into the water, I was stunned enough that I forgot not to breath in the water. I'm sure he meant for it to be a harmless joke, probably expecting me to stand up and curse at him, which I would have done had I reacted normally. However, this was not normal, as I came up coughing and choking, then sank back down again, unable to regain my water stability. It didn't help that he'd thrown me right into the middle of the lake either.

When I came up the second time, I managed to get a gulp of air, but I couldn't get the water out as I sank again. It was about then that Howl figured out that something was wrong, because he dove into the water, and hoisted me to the surface, then to the shore. I coughed the water out, and gasped for air, then I started cursing at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as I swore, coughed and swore some more. I finished off by pushing him into the water, as my revenge. He surfaced, and stood over me, and it was about then that I noticed with water plastering his clothes to his body, not much was left to the imagination. I'm pretty sure I turned bright red, before looking in the opposite direction. I heard Howl chuckle, before picking me up, and bringing me into the water with him, this time begin sure to keep my head over the waves.

Once he was certain that I was able to keep myself afloat, with me muttering very dark curses at him, under my breath, he pulled off his soaked clothes, and threw them up onto the beach, near my own underthings. Now we were both naked in the water, even though the sun threw such a glare that I couldn't see under the water very well.

Howl slid up to me, with a slight smile on his face, and a look in his eyes that made me wonder what he was planning. A little nervously, I slipped away from him in the water, putting some space between us, but that didn't do much, as he pursued me, and gently caressed me, shoulders, hips, breasts, inner thighs, arms, and so on. This time, I decided to return the favor. Every stroke he made on me, I mirrored on him, and soon both of us were working towards the heights of passion, again. Locked in the embrace of each other, and the water, we were oblivious to the height of the sun, and the color of the sky.

When we came down together from that sexual high, we floated around in the water, occasionally splashing each other, and cleaning up. I dunked him a couple of times, just because I could, and there were more than a few water wars, but eventually, the position of the sun, and the sounds of voices calling our names brought us out of the belief that there were only us two in such a place.

With haste, I pulled my panties and bra on, as Howl quickly dressed beside me. I didn't feel quite so self conscious as I had the night before, but the thought of Frost or Draco seeing me like this made me twitch. Howl dropped his shirt over my head. Grateful, I pulled my arms into the sleeves, and buttoned it. The shirt went a little past my hips, but the cuffs of the sleeves feel well past my hands. With an irritated grumble, I started to fold one up, and didn't protest when Howl started to roll the other one.

"Marie!"

"Over here!" I called.

A head of silver hair poked over the hill that separated this warm-spring lake from the others, and waved at us, impatiently.

"Come on," Luna demanded. "We're starving!"

I laughed, took Howls hand, and followed Luna back to the group. Once there, She dragged me away to get what she called the juicy details about what had happened last night, and from what I saw, Frost and Draco were comparing notes with Howl. I was almost irritated, but as I looked at him, in all his shirtlessness, I couldn't help but feel a thrill run through me. I smiled faintly, and flipped some hair over my shoulder, almost absently wondering where I'd thrown my hair-tie.

"So, how did it feel?" Flame asked.

I shrugged, almost automatically.

"Why not ask Cam," I suggested. "After all, she was with Draco, and Fier was with Frost..."

I grinned, pleased by the stunned looks on Flames and Luna's faces. Lamia looked pleased though, and around us, the smaller children ran, playing an early morning game of tag.

'This looks to be an intriguing next few days,' I smiled, looking at Howl out of the corner of my eye. 'Let's hope that we can survive all the questions.'


	16. Chapter 14

Part 14

The next few days were wonderful. And I'm not talking about just the sex, although as I became more experienced, that definitely got better. No, the sense of peace that everyone retained from the gardens started to pass over into the daily conversations, usually after the kids had run themselves into exhaustion.

Evenings were often spent just walking through the flowers, soft conversations floating in and out of hearing. We gathered for dinner, chatted, and spent time watching the stars, but more and more often, we found ourselves wandering from each other. I paid no attention to it, knowing that after two solid weeks of confinement in each others company, alone time was well deserved.

On most nights I could be found swimming, alone was my preference but company was always welcomed. I had nipped back to the castle to get my actual swimsuit so that I didn't have to feel so shy about showing off when I got out of the water, and so that I could feel that I was at least mostly dressed.

Then, storm clouds began to build on the horizon one morning, obstructing the dawn. I had just emerged from the small house, which Howl had told me had been a gift from his uncle, and was all ready to stretch out my muscles with a good swim, but the large clouds stopped me. I narrowed my eyes, as I realized they were bringing rain, but with a sigh, rationalized that the flowers could use some.

So, instead of going for my swim, I just stretched out manually, and began walking towards the group sleeping place. There was just enough time for everyone to wake up and for all of us to eat and gather everything up before the first fat drops of rain began to fall. I ran through the rain, just for the hell of it, however, the rain was chilly, and I didn't feel the need to be out in it for very long.

Somehow, I still managed to get soaked before I got in, a fact that made others grin. I rolled my eyes, and slipped into my room, for a fresh change of clothes. Today I was feeling decidedly feminine, so I went for a warm sweater, it was close to winter after all, and a soft skirt that actually went to my ankles.

To complete the look, I tied my hair back in a loose ponytail with a ribbon, allowing a few strands to escape and frame my face. Even I have my moments of actually wanting to look nice. They might be few and far between, but I do have those moments.

We checked Kingsburry, simply to see if it would have some shops for us, but the rain was pouring down there as well. Resigned to rain, I turned it back to the neutral color that would reconnect to Golden, and was rewarded with sunshine.

Everyone piled out the sliding glass door, and even though there were bomb holes where the barn had been, most of the trees had survived, and were turning russet and gold, as fall swiftly approached. For a week, things proceeded as normal, with the usual snips and snaps, but nothing... overly explosive. Then, one early morning, I woke to an empty bedroom.

I was used to waking up alone, but I could tell the moment I was fully awake that

something was off. Howl never left without some form of explanation. Even if I couldn't pull it from memory, I usually was able to get the gist of what he said from my subconscious, and this morning, there was simply nothing.

I tossed the covers off, and padded quietly downstairs, knowing that Howl and I were the only dawn risers in this odd family we'd created. Calcifer was up, and eating logs, but there was a look on his flame-face that set off alarm bells in my head. Still, I was trying to pretend casualness, so I decided against coming right out and saying anything. To my surprise, when Calcifer saw me, he blurted out exactly what I needed to hear.

"Howl got a letter this morning," the fire demon said. " Something bad I think... He threw it at me, and took off. I didn't mean to burn it..."

"But you're fire and paper burns really well," I finished. "Don't worry about it Calcifer. Where did he go?"

"Kingsburry," Calcifer replied. "He didn't say anything to me about when he'd be back though."

I shrugged, ignored the nagging feeling that told me to go out after him, and went to start breakfast.

"He'll be back," I said softly, more to myself than to anyone else.

But he didn't come back that day, or the next, or the next. I didn't mean to mope around, but I couldn't really help myself. Being left with an explanation was bad enough, but alone without one? Oh, there was no substitute for the tears on my heart. My friends did their best to distract me, and Raven stuck to me like glue, but nothing could stop me from watching the door with a hopeful feeling.

Every night, I curled up in the bed, and held onto the hope that he would be there in the morning, and everything would return to normal again.

Finally, as the fifth day passed into the sixth, I decided I was sick of waiting for him to come back. I was going out to find him, and no one was going to be able to stop me. Still, to make sure that I wasn't going to encounter any resistance, I waited until midnight, before creeping downstairs.

Calcifer was slumbering in his logs, and the house itself was silent. I slid into the kitchen, and picked up my sisters old drawstring backpack, to use for this 'mission' as I was calling it secretly. I stuffed some food in it, and a small map I dragged out of Howls room, of Kingsburry. I snagged a pocket-knife and stuffed it into the pocket of my skirt, then tucked a larger knife up my sleeve, thankful that it came with its own wrist holder. Somehow I knew that these things would come in handy, and it would be a mistake to leave them behind.

From the closet, I pulled out a rain coat, one with a hood, and an umbrella, as well as rubber boots, and an extra pair of walking shoes. Again, I was following this quiet instinct that said they were needed, so who was I to argue? I removed the pocket-knife from my right pocket, and lightly taped it into place inside the rain boot. Then, just to make sure all my bases were covered, I wrote a note to let my friends know what I was doing.

'Hey all,' it said. 'I'm sick of waiting, so I'm going to find Howl. If I need help, I'll send word.

Marie'

I had a feeling that all hell would break loose if I didn't get out fast, so I left the note on the table, stuffed my feet into the boots, threw the raincoat on over my backpack, turned the color to Kingsburry red, and slid out into the downpour of rain.

I looked around, noting that the sheets of rain would make it hard for me to know if someone was getting close to me, and wished vaguely that I'd picked up a rain hat versus a jacket with a hood. I slid the hood off, ignored the rain that was now sliding down my back in icy trickles, and set off to look around for Howl.

I didn't get more than ten steps before I was broadsided by a large someone, and clocked on the back of the head. I was down and out, like a broken light.

The first thing I did when I started to wake up was curse myself for being a complete and total sucker. Mentally of course. Then, the rest of me started to register my surroundings. There was a soft pillow under my head, and I could feel the texture of the blanket with my hands. My hands and ankles were tied together, but whether someone had underestimated me, or overestimated their ability to keep me down, I don't know. I wriggled out of the rain boots, bringing the taped pocket-knife with my feet up to my hands. I loosed the ropes around the wrists of the jacket enough for me to slip out of it, and pocketed the knife again. I rubbed my wrists, and ankles, chafing life back into them. It was tempting to play unconscious to take who-ever had captured me by surprise, but I didn't have the patience to wait. I was pissed, pure and simple.

I loosed the knife I'd attached to the wrist brace, and climbed off the bed. Crouching behind it, I slid the shoes I'd brought from the drawstring bag, and put them on, so as not to slip on the tiled floor.

Knife in one hand, shoes and backpack on, and pocket-knife at the ready just in case, I stood up, and actually looked around. The room that I'd been stowed in was one of obvious opulence, with brocade curtains, and velvet coverings for almost everything. There was an elaborately carved fireplace on one side of the room, and what looked to be stained glass windows at my back. And, strangely enough, they were all in shades of gold, russet, and copper. Somewhere in my mind I decided to call this the Autumn room, but my attention was diverted when the door began to open.

I shifted the knife so that the flat of the blade was hidden behind my arm, and slid back from the bed, putting it, and a chair between me and the door. It was a good thing I did so, considering who walked into the room.

Now, I was well beyond pissed. Raymond smiled lustily at me, and set a tray of food on a small table near the fireplace.

"So, my sleeping beauty awakes. I'm sorry our guards had to be so rough with you, but they couldn't see who you were."

"Where's Howl," I demanded. "You had to have a hand in this you arrogant prick, and unless you want me to lose what little hold I have on my temper, you'll tell me where he is."

"Why, I believe my sister wanted him for a pet.." Raymond replied, leaning against the door.

I bit back my retort, and saw the smugness in those emerald-green eyes. He was hiding something, and I had to know what it was, so I decided to play my wild card.

"I'll ask you one more time," I growled. "Where is my lover!"

That made him start. His eyes narrowed to become icy chips of green, but I was not intimidated. I flipped the knife so that he could see the blade, and gave him my own dark stare.

"Where. Is. He?"

In a tiny corner of my mind, I was a little stunned at how cold I could become when the need arose, but I pushed that feeling away, and focused on the man who had thought to deceive me.

"You know," I murmured conversationally. "I bet if I put my mind to it, I could extract the truth out of your head, whether you want me to or not. It's a little painful to the recipient, but I haven't killed to many people with it."

Now I waited to see if he'd fall for the bluff. I knew of no such spell, but desperate times, called for severe measures. After a few minutes of struggling between painful spell or keeping a secret, Raymond finally gave in.

"One of the bridges," he capitulated. "My sister didn't know, but I couldn't stand to have that Wizardly idiot in my home."

My mind raced, and clicked upon the only possible action.

"You idiot!" I snarled. "What bridge!"

He shrugged, obviously holding back a smirk at my panic. I wasn't about to take any of that. I threw the dagger, aiming just the barest inch below his crotch.

"If he dies, I will hold you personally responsible," I said, very softly. "In fact, I hold you responsible for everything that you may have done to him to keep him incapacitated. After all, if he'd been unharmed and awake, he'd've come home by now."

"Maybe he left you."

I wasn't about to listen to anymore of his words.

"If he's dead, you'd better pray you know how to run fast, because I will hunt you down and kill you myself," I whispered, voice like ice.

Then, I turned, towards the windows, felt a flicker of remorse for the stained glass that I was about to ruin, and launched myself through them. Using the floating trick that Howl had taught me, I was able to make a safe landing, then another jump to get onto the roof of a nearby house.

It hadn't been my intent to make such a dramatic exit, or to leave that dagger behind, but I pushed the thoughts out of my mind, and concentrated. Almost immediately, ten or so little rainbow colored bubbles popped into existence, and hovered at eye level.

"Check all bridges for Howl," I said. "If you find him, summon me."

With sounds like soft sighs, the little bubbles vanished to check the bridges. I was soaked, but ignored it as minutes after agonizing minute passed. Then, off to my left, I felt heat, which signaled to me that one of my bubbles had found my lover.

Using the float technique, I made swift time over the roofs to one of the older, but still well kept bridges. After making sure that no one had been following me, though I would have been impressed if anyone had, I jumped down, and went under the bridge, carefully since all the recent rain had swollen every river in the area.

Howl was there, but before I breathed a relieved sigh, I noted things of particular interest, that added to my simmering temper. He wasn't conscious, and from what I could see, there was an impressive set of lumps on his head, which explained why he'd not gotten away before now. What worried me the most was simply how limp he was.

I noted the rope that kept him attached to the bridge went around his waist, pinning his

arms to his sides, and the water was rising more by the minute.

"Find us a dry, unoccupied building," I instructed the bubble, as I went a little more upstream. "Signal when you do."

It vanished off into the rain, and I jumped into the ice-cold water. The current swept me faster downstream than I anticipated. It was only by luck that I managed to keep my head above the water, and grab onto Howl as I practically flew by. I pulled the pocket-knife out, and sawed at the rope that held him. Soaked ropes made for a lot of sawing, but when I finally cut through them, we both nearly went under. It was about then that I figured out there was some sort of weight around his ankles, and his wrists were tied as well.

Cursing mentally, I used Howl to pull me under to get at the weight on his ankles, which came off fairly easy. Of course, I forgot to take into account the fact that after I loosed him, we'd both be swept downstream. I regretted that ten seconds into the rapids rush, when I finally managed to get my head above the water long enough to find the shore.

I yanked Howl behind me, heart pounded a staccato rhythm as I reached out to grab onto the shore. It was hard enough hauling us both out of the water, and frankly, I was beginning to doubt my ability to do this all by myself.

Right about then, a flare of heat snapped my attention to the south, and after I cut Howl's wrists loose, I pulled one of his arms over my shoulder, and half dragged, half carried him to the dry deserted house where my bubble was. I shouldered the door open, and staggered in, kicking the door closed behind us.

I gently laid Howl on his back, and beckoned the bubble down.

"Begin recoding," I said.

Immediately, the bubble went opaquely white. I coughed a little bit, clearing some water out of my lungs, and sighed.

"Okay, so I need a bit of help," I grumbled. "I've got Howl with me, he's safe, and I'm safe, but we can't get back to the castle right now. I promise I'll be there ASAP. No one is to venture into Kingsburry. Believe you me, it's not the best idea in the world. End recoding."

The bubble reverted to the rainbow transparency, and vanished without me needing to say anything. I nodded, and pulled Howl's wet clothes off. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this, but decided to try something at least. The only major damage was to his hard head, but it was bad enough that I could sense his life-force fading swiftly. And there was no way in heaven, hell, or whatever else there might be that I was going to let him go without a fight!

I'd only recently read about the spell that I was about to try, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I stripped as well, throwing my wet things next to his, and laid myself on top of him, to maximize skin-to-skin contact needed for healing. Then, without preamble, I began dumping all my magic into him, while siphoning off some to heat up at least some of the area that we were in.

I was focused only on the power that could heal Howl, not the danger that I myself was heading into, with a greater speed than I knew. My intent was to heal Howl, and warm him, so that he'd be alright again, but I severely underestimated the amount of power it would take for me to accomplish such a feat.

I could tell that Howl's mental and physical wounds were healing, which was a relief, and that the temperature of the room was starting to stabilize. I found it a little strange that though the room was warm, I was feeling colder and colder, but I ignored it, and continued to pour out my magic.

I closed my eyes for only a moment, but when I opened them, I wasn't in a place I

recognized. It was dark, but at the end, I could see a warm light filtering through, like when a curtain fluttered on a windy, albeit sunny day. Curious, I walked in the direction of the fluttering light, as it solidified into something more.

It was my mother.

"Momma!"

I took off towards the light, all intent on giving my mother a superhug. She met me a few feet from the window, as I started to think of it, and hugged me just as hard.

"Mom, I missed you! Where have you been all this time?"

"Well, I'm dead Marie. I've been here, waiting for you."

I wiped my eyes. I hadn't noticed when Id started crying, but to hear her say, quite calmly too, that she was dead, snapped me back to some semblance of reality.

"Wait... if you're dead than I'm..."

"Between realms at the moment," Mother clarified. "It's not your time, but I was given a special dispension to see you. Apparently, you've been dwelling to much on the past."

I scuffed my foot against the non-existent ground, sheepishly.

"Dear, nothing you could have done that day would have altered my fate. I am at peace with that fact. You have such a wonderful life now, the one I always hoped you would have. Well, so the two who are trying to break you and Howl up aren't exactly what I had in mind, but your life with Howl is."

I felt tugging on my arms, and looked down. Two small girl held onto me, both with worried looks. I crouched down to be at eye level with them, and tilted my head curiously.

"Who're you?" I asked. "Did you die in the blasts too?"

"We're you future children!" the girl on the right said. "Twins! You can't die yet, cause we haven't been born!"

"Hey mom," I smiled, sadly. "Look, you have a preview of your grandchildren."

As I stood I was pulled into another hug, warm, and unflinching. My mother stroked my hair, gently soothing me.

"This is our chance to say goodbye," she murmured, as I buried my face in her shoulder, despite the fact that I was now several inches taller than her. "You have to live a life full to the brim Marie. If I can, I'll visit you in your dreams, and you can tell me what you want. But now..."

She let me go, and I felt something tug at my waist. Coupled with the two girls on my arms, I was slowly being drawn backwards, away from my mother.

"Momma! Wait!"

She waved, and blew me a kiss. I desperately reached out for her, but there was a snap- jerk, and then pure darkness.


	17. Chapter 15

Part 15

I woke up when someone shook me gently, having no memory of my time between life and death, other than the vaguest feeling of peace because something had been achieved. I moaned, wondering why I hurt so much, and why it was so cold before consenting to open my eyes and admit that I was still alive.

My eyes met Howl's worried blue one, barely a fraction of a second before I was

enveloped in a warm hug. It hurt, a lot! I yelped at the contact, wondering what had happened to make my body hurt so much. Howl loosened his hold slightly, then kissed me full on the mouth, as if to prove to himself that I was alive.

'Alive...' my mind rolled the word over in my head, before the memory of what I'd been doing popped back into my head. 'He's okay!'

I felt giddy with relief, but for the most part, I was seriously ready to snip and snap at him. When he finally pulled back, to check me over, I folded my arms, and scowled at him. To my mild amusement, he recognized the look, and started to apologize for having been tricked so easily. He said more than enough to make me decide against scolding him, but then turned the tables and called me reckless!

"Excuse me?" I demanded. "you're the one who got tricked by some messed up letter, and I'm the one who's reckless! How in the name of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory does that work out?"

I was floored, and furious.

"You go missing for six days, without leaving me any form of word on when you'd be back, which makes me think you left because of me! You don't send any word the whole time your gone! What am I supposed to think, damnit! Am I supposed to believe everyone who says you'll be back 'tomorrow' when you don't show up the next day!"

I was crying. I had been so frightened, so lonely.

"I thought that you could talk to me about anything at all! But you don't have the decency to tell me why you left without warning! I'm always at the bottom of the list of things that you care about, aren't I!"

I pushed him away, blind in my hurt and my anger, and staggered to my feet, then over to the corner where I'd thrown the clothes. I yanked my clothes on, and started to head for the door, but Howl got in my way.

"Where are you going?" He asked, voice soft, dangerous.

"Anywhere but here," I choked on my tears. "Obviously I'm not wanted here anymore!"

I tried to go around him, but he wouldn't let me. Frustrated, I went to push past him, and he grabbed me, pulling me close and pinning my arms to my sides, so that I couldn't fight back. I struggled, but that only brought about more pain from my overtaxed body. Finally, I gave up. Howl was stronger than I was, faster, and a much stronger wizard.

"Are you done now?" Howl asked gently.

"Feck you," I said, without any real conviction.

"Maybe later," he replied, slight amusement tingeing his voice. "May I explain now?"

"Knock yerself out..."

"I'll take that as a yes. The letter was an excellent forgery, done by Raymond, to make me believe that he had an old family friend hostage, to be released when I came by. This old friend had gotten me out of a number of troubles when I was younger and less experienced, so I owed it to him to try and help him out.

"If I'd known it was a trick, I certainly wouldn't have gone anywhere, but please believe that I did not.

"And you were reckless. You gave me every last bit of your magic, trying to heal me and warm the room at the same time. I had to both find a way to return some of your magic so that it could recover, and give you more so that you would live. I almost lost you Marie!"

His voice was rough with worry and anguish. I wanted to toss aside my anger and hurt, but I couldn't. Not yet.

"I... can understand where you're coming from Howl," I finally said. "But right now, don't ask for forgiveness. I can't give you that just yet."

He gently set me back on my feet, and got dressed. I pulled the umbrella from the

drawstring bag, and we walked out of the abandoned building, heading towards the castle, both lost in our own thoughts.

When we got home, we were scolded, hugged, kissed, and generally welcomed back by everyone. I accepted the bare minimum of affection, before going to my mothers room, and locking the door so that no one could get in. Talking was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment.

I could hear everyone asking Howl what was wrong, alongside the typical what happened questions, but he seemed as inclined to talk as I was, and shortly after, I heard the sound of the door leading up to his rooms shut, and his footsteps climbed the stairs.

I flopped onto my mothers bed, raising a cloud of dust, and as it settled, I sighed, and started turning things over in my mind.

My trust had been broken in him, that much was a fact. I hated being left in the dark, or left behind, and he'd effectively done both, ripping my heart into tiny shreds of what had once been. Then, there was that funny accomplished feeling, that I'd gotten when he'd first woken me up after that near-fatal healing, which I couldn't help but find somewhat ironic.

My heart felt like it had been stomped on. I'd trusted Howl to tell me if he needed to leave, even if he was going to be gone for a long time. I needed to know that it wasn't my fault that he'd left! While I knew it now, I certainly wasn't about to forgive being forgotten as though I was yesterdays news.

What was odd was the conflicting emotions. My depression felt almost doubled, but there was another persons thoughts intruding into mine.

'She hates me now. I was an idiot.'

I blinked, and sat up a little straighter, my mind beginning to work into overdrive.

'I deserve her hatred. I deserve whatever contempt she has for me...'

"Waitaminute," I began to think out loud. "Michael said something about a power-share spell that he used to lengthen Martha's life... could I have initiated something like that, then had Howl reciprocate with his own when I nearly died?"

I had to find Michael if I wanted to find out, so I left my mothers room, and stuck my head through the door leading to Howl's stairs.

"I'm going to see Michael about something," I called. "I'll be back in about an hour!"

Repeating that to everyone else, who took the hint that I didn't want to say what I was going to talk about, I pulled a jacket out of the closet, and shrugged it on over my still damp clothes. Raven grabbed onto my leg, refusing to let go, and with a shrug, I picked up the green haired, silver-eyed girl, and went to Port Haven, to talk to Michael and Martha.

The Port was faring well, a sunny, slightly windy autumn day, when Raven and I emerged from the castle's door. I stopped the first fisherman I saw, and asked where Michael or Martha lived. He pointed me to a house, and waved off my thanks with a grunt.

"Momma?" Raven asked, absently sticking her thumb in her mouth. "Why're we here?"

I'd gotten used to being called mom by the small child, and gently pulled the thumb out of her mouth.

"Because, Michael is Howl's former apprentice, and he knows the spell that will make Howl and myself be... well, I guess it's a form of immortality. But for some reason, I think we might have already done the spell, completely by accident, and I want to see if his results after he cast the spell were the same as the results I'm getting right now."

"Like what kinda results?" The three-year-old asked.

"Well, for one thing, I can feel Howl's depression as well as my own, and if it works both ways, he probably know how angry and betrayed I feel right now. It's only a hunch though, so don't take it at face value."

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to always be mad at Daddy?"

I paused.

"No..." I replied slowly. "But I put a great deal of trust into the things we left unspoken, and because that trust is now gone, it's going to take a while before I'm comfortable around him. Still, if what we did, is doing what I think it did, then it shouldn't take half as long."

The little girl blinked.

"That's confusing Mommy..."

I chuckled, and continued walking. The house I stopped in front of had a modest plaque, nothing like what was on Howl's front door, and when I knocked, Martha answered, covered in flour, from baking.

"Why, Marie!" she smiled. "How nice to see you again. Please come in, and bring the cute kidlet with you."

I smiled. I liked Martha, because though she was pretty, she wasn't pretentious, and she absolutely adored little kids. She gave Raven free run of the house, saying that Michael would be back sometime later in the evening, and did I mind waiting while she finished in the kitchen. When I offered to help, she gave a token protest, until I mentioned how much I'd missed being able to bake.

Soon, I was elbow deep in dough, and chatting with Martha as though we'd known each other for more than just one meeting. Strangely enough, it was Martha, not Michael who tipped me off to the life-extensions spells effects.

"So... it's natural to be able to pick up some of his thoughts?" I asked, punching bread dough.

"Oh, of course." Martha replied, pulling a cookie sheet out of the oven. "It takes a bit to get used to, certainly, but that was the main effect of what the spell did. Emotions often come through stronger than thoughts. There's also the added bonus of knowing where he is, most of the time at least. The farther away, to harder it is to know anything. But he can always feel my emotions better than I can feel his. I've always thought it to be because I didn't have such good control over mine."

"But..?" I prompted, as she started pounding another lump of dough.

"What? Oh no," Martha laughed. "No, I'm really a very emotional person! I saw what I feel more often than not, and get into more trouble than Sophie did. Of course, Sophie often had the training to back up what she said.

"Still, that does bring back some memories of when we were kids..."

It was fun learning about young Sophie and young Martha, as well as their other sister, Lettie. The hours simply melted away, as I helped Martha, and told her some of my own troubled tales, finally ending with the one that had happened the day before. Martha nodded when I said I'd felt like he'd betrayed me.

"Of course you'd feel that way," she replied, as we sat on the couch, sipping tea. "So would I, if it came down to it! Tch... That Howl can be so inconsiderate, even with a heart."

"Tell me about it," I grumbled, as Raven came zooming in, grabbed a cookie, then ran back out to play with some friends she'd made. "Thing is, I'm pretty sure that he doesn't see it from my point of view. He knows a lot about me, that's true, but..."

I raised a hand, feeling helpless.

"But sometimes it's like he doesn't know you at all," Martha concluded. "I've had those moments too. You do know that he loves you, so that counts for a great deal. He can't love you without knowing most of your faults, and your virtues."

"Yeah... that's true," I conceded. "Doesn't stop me from being hurt by him though."

The door opened, and Michael walked in, a package under his arm.

"Hello there Marie," he said, setting the package down on the table. "Long time no see. How are you?"

"Frustrated, irritated, and tired," I replied, smiling despite my mood. "But otherwise fine..."

"Really? Why do you feel so out of sorts?"

"It's... a long story, and judging by the time, I'm going to have some pretty peeved friends by the time I get back to the castle. Martha, you're welcome to tell him the whole thing, but I have to get going before someone comes..."

And there was Howl in the open doorway.

"Looking for me..." I finished. "I'll see you next week Martha. This's been a ball."

"Raven!" I called, standing up, and brushing out my skirt. "Time to go!"

The little girl came pelting at me from down the hall, and held out her arms. As she rushed at me, I swooped her up, and around in a circle, while she shrieked with laughter, before settling her on my hip, and walking out the door, with Howl at my side.

The talk with Martha had done wonders for my shattered feelings, so much so that I attempted to draw Howl into a conversation. He however, was determined to remain silent, and since I didn't want to intrude to much into his thoughts, I tried concentrating on other things.

When he turned down another path, one that led away from the castle, I frowned, and watched him walk away for a minute, then shrugged, and decided to let him alone, at least for a bit. I turned up the other road, wanting more to get home and into warmer clothes. An autumn night up north is cold, but an autumn night next to any body of water is colder, and the sun was starting to set.

I shouldered open the door, more intent on not jostling the sleeping child in my arms than on speed, and kicked it quietly closed behind me. I looked up, fully expecting the irritated looks that I was getting. I half-shrugged, and went to deposit Raven in my room.

After doing so, and going into my mothers room to change into something warm and dry, it was hard to believe, but my clothes were still somewhat damp from the rain, I pulled a jacket from the closet, and pulled it on.

"Oh, don't give me that look," I snorted at Fier. "I'm going, I'm going! Sheesh..."

Grabbing another coat, I was pretty sure that Howl would need it, I went back out into Port Haven, and followed the slight tug down to the docks, where I found Howl, after a few minutes of looking around. I dropped the coat on his head, and sat down next to him, watching the sun continue its slow descent.

"I know that you can't forgive me now," Howl said at length. "But I want you to know that if you want me to, I'll..."

"You'll be quiet, and stop being silly," I smiled. "I've learned quite a few things today, and while I might be mad at you, I know that you don't deserve it. I should be more furious with Raymond and Alicia, than with you. So if you were just about to tell me that you were thinking about leaving, you might want to change your mind real quick. If you leave, I get to hunt you down and..."

I paused, then smirked faintly.

"And remind you that you're ticklish too."

He darted a look at me, and my grin grew more pronounced. Then, almost innocently, I raised my arms in a stretch and yawn. Bringing my arms back down, I lightly ran my nails down his spine, making him jump. I coughed, and hid my smile with an innocent look, which had Howl rolling his eyes.

"Come on," I said, standing. "If I go back without you, I'm sure to be treated with a few lectures."

I made a face, and offered Howl my hand. He looked at it for a minute, then took it, and pulled himself up. Without warning, he pulled me into a hug. For a moment, I was frozen, still feeling a bit emotionally injured, but then decided a hug was maybe the first step in healing. I brought my arms up, and rested my head against his chest.

We stood like that until the sun disappeared below the horizon, and the oceans chill began to seep in.

"Okay... getting cold," I shivered, even in his arms. "Let's go back to the castle. With luck, neither of us will get into any more trouble."

I could feel his reluctance to let go, so, as an incentive, I ran my nails up and down his spine. He jumped back, and I grinned smugly, then tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're it!" I grinned, then took off like a shot.

I didn't hear his footsteps join me til I was halfway off the docks. We raced all the way up to the castle, with him winning, if only just barely. Pausing for a minute to catch my breath, I leaned back and looked up. To my delight, a star flew across the sky, and I swiftly made a wish.

'No matter what happens... I want Howl to stay with me forever.'


	18. Chapter 16

Part 16

For the next month and a half, nothing much happened. Howl and I were polite to each other, and slowly I started to feel more comfortable around him again. Into the second half of the second month, I began skipping breakfast, due to the fact that every morning, my stomach rebelled on me.

And it wasn't just me. Cam had taken to skipping lunch, and Fier often went without dinner. Finally, we managed to get together, away from the always listening ears of our family, and talk, trying to explain away our sickness, and knowing that in truth, we couldn't. At last, I decided to just cut to the point.

"Okay, how late is yours?" I asked both girls.

They scuffed toes in the leaves, which by now were falling at a fast rate.

"A week," Cam admitted.

"Ten days..." Fier said softly.

"And I'm almost two weeks overdue. You both know what this means, right?"

We all exchanged looks, then both of them sighed, and hung their heads.

"But we can't be sure yet, can we?" Fier asked. "We should make sure before announcing something like that!"

"Oh fine," I shrugged. "So we'll go to the store and get a few things. Just us three. We can check there."

They both nodded, and we went to retrieve flashlights, backpacks, and one lantern. Without letting anyone know why we were leaving, we told them we were going out for a while, and we did not want company. The three guys immediately started to discuss what we might be going out for, but the three of us giving the Look of Doom (patent pending) shut them up.

After casting a 'we'll tell you later' look at Flame, Lamia and Luna, we left out the back door, not really wanting to deal with the magic in the front, and started walking. The town was silent, but not completely. There were birds that now moved back into their old nesting spots, ready to settle in for winter, and even non-domestic wildlife was making it presence known, in the few remaining woods around the neighborhood.

Still, the bigger part, the main downtown area, was still fairly deserted, and almost utterly silent. We, well, Fier and I, were more jumpy once we hit that area, and our voice dropped, so as not to echo or rebound off of the remaining structures.

In the store, we walked along the shelves, using the lantern to see where we could put our feet, and the flashlight that Cam held to read the aisle signs that told us what was down each aisle. After five minutes of futile walking, we found what we had been hunting for. After we each took one, we split up, and found a private place to test it.

Three minutes passed, before we met up again, and held the readers under Cam's light. They all showed... positive. We three exchanged glances, then Cam shrugged, being the most ready to deal with it, and started grabbing other packages that we were going to need, very soon.

"You know," I remarked, shedding my paralysis, and helping, "We're either going to have some very happy guys, or some really flipped out guys. Probably should grab some of these too..."

Fier blinked, nodded slowly, then the three of us looked at each other, grinned, and jumped in for a girls group-hug.

"We're going to be mothers!" we squealed. "We're going to be moms!"

A noise at the entrance to the store made us freeze, and switch our lights off. Cautiously, I crept to the entrance of the aisle, and peered around, then my eyes widened, and I took hurried steps backwards, almost running into Fier.

"We need to get out of here," I hissed, voice barely above a whisper. "There are some soldiers in here, looking for something."

"Whoops," Fier mumbled. "Guess we shoulda been quieter, huh?"

"Well, too late now," Carmen sighed. "Let's sneak out the back way."

It wasn't as easy as that, however. By the time we found the back exit, there were multiple points of light from flashlights, in the store, and we had to go without ours, since that would have given us away. That almost caused a few disasters, and we barely escaped the store before we knocked something over. Then, it was a swiftly dodge around the perimeter guards, and a headlong run back home.

We were laughing, giddy with relief mixed with excitement, by the time we piled into the house, and dispersed to put away the baby things we'd gotten. Then, we gathered together near Calcifer, all bundles of excitement, joy, and nervousness, and started to discuss, quietly, what kinds of names we liked for children. At the time, I was starting to get the vaguest of recollections about what had happened when I was nearly dead, and the fact that I was going to have twins, and girls too, had stuck out in my mind.

We didn't quite notice, lost in our plans as we were, when everyone else filtered upstairs for lunch, then abandoned the idea, and looked at us expectantly. When I realized they were watching, I grinned, and elbowed Cam and Fier.

"Not sure what to say..." Cam mumbled, turning a delicate scarlet.

"Me either..." Fier admitted.

I rolled my eyes, and grinned, somewhat roguishly.

"Well, then I'll say it. Guys, we're pregnant."

The silence was exactly the reaction I'd been hoping for. Frost, Draco and Howl all had these 'stunned bird' looks on their faces. Flame, Lamia, and Luna gave them sharp looks, then warms smiles were directed our way, as the trio of girls saw our own smiles.

When the guys recovered, which truthfully only took a few seconds, their reactions were varied. Frost fell over, in a dead faint that caused much laughter from the rest of us, Draco approached Carmen cautiously, then embraced her, and Howl picked me up and swung me around until laughing, I ordered him to put me down. He complied with the demand, but one arm stayed around my waist.

Fier had dumped a pitcher of water on Frosts head, and he woke, sputtering and

spluttering. It was actually kinda cute to watch as he went into spasms of panic about when where, and how, before Fier clonked him on the head with the empty water pitcher, then dragged him downstairs to fill him in on this sudden new development.

Cam and Draco were cuddling, and it was getting to sickeningly cute, even for someone who loved cute, like me. So, Howl and I vacated to the field of flowers, leaving Flame, Luna, and Lamia with apologetic looks. Once out there, Howl picked me up again, and swung me around, until he got to dizzy, and stumbled us both into a pool. I sat up, thankfully having landed in the shallow end, and swiped wet hair out of my face, laughing.

"Veeeery graceful," I teased, as Howl spat out water, then looked at me in a fuzzy and semi-fuddled way. "Not only do we get the spin-dry treatment, you end up falling back into the washer!"

He shook his head, and water sprayed everywhere, soaking me further. Mock-outraged, I splashed some water at him, and in no time, we had engaged in a water war. He conceded victory after I actually jumped him in the water, and ducked him a few times, albeit sulkingly.

We walked casually among the flowers, occasionally touching hands, sometimes speaking, but mostly silent, until we got to the small stone house. I'd thought ahead, since we'd been spending nights in there, and had the forethought to store some extra clothes in the cedar chest at the foot of the bed.

We changed, grabbed a blanket, and went out to lay under the slowly emerging stars. Howl wrapped one arm around my waist again, and I, in turn, used him for a comfortable pillow, just relaxing, and soaking in the pure joy I felt.

"You know," Howl murmured, as I dreamily watched the moon rise. "I wasn't planning on children quite yet..."

"Well, you have nine months to get used to the idea of two girls running around," I said, unfazed. "I'm the one that's going to be carrying them after all."

"How do you...?" He began, propping himself up on one elbow to look at me.

I shrugged, and shifted position to attempt to retain my pillowy comfort. I wasn't exactly sure how I knew that it was going to be girls and twins, but that fact was so stuck in my mind that I decided it had to be.

"...Well, if you're sure, then we'll have to get started working on what... four bassinets? Your two, and with luck Carmen and Fier will only have one a piece. This is going to expand the family, but shrink the house, I hope you realize."

There was no hint of protest or remonstration in Howls voice, so I just shrugged

nonchalantly, and decided to use his lap for a pillow, since he refused to lie down again. He poked my nose, attracting my attention as I started to float off on daydreams among the stars over our heads.

"I wanted to wait for your birthday," he sighed, pulling a small velvet rose out of

nowhere. "But this gets dropped in my lap instead."

I grinned.

"Such is life," I teased. "Ya gotta learn to roll with the punches my dear."

Howl snorted, and handed the rose to me. Curiosity flared, but warred with caution. He'd already played a practical joke on me the other day, with something very much like this flower. As if sensing my hesitation, he opened it for me.

There, glimmering softly in the moonlight, was the final piece to the opal rose set that I always wore.

The ring.

I sat straight up, and turned to face Howl, who had a beseeching look on his face.

"I know that you're still not happy with me," he said, blue eyes desperately seeking mine. "And I can't really find any fault with that but... Bond or no bond, I wanted you with me maybe a month after I first met you when we were both on the down and outs of life.

"When Raymond came into the picture, I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. He could have given you.."

I gave him an exasperated look, as I put my hand over his mouth, to stop the flow of words.

"He could have given me nothing that I wanted Howl," I said very quietly, very seriously. "You saved my life, convinced me to keep living, despite my regressions. Raymond only say a girl that he might easily control, one who was emotionally fragile and had lost her sense of self.

"If Raymond had tried to approach me as I was, before the bombing, or as I am now, As you should know" My voice became sharper, irritated. "He would be rebuffed within a minute. I don't like idiots who think they own the world."

I was silent for a minute, then plucked the ring from it's fuzzy resting place, and slipped it on. It fit, though it was almost to small.

"And if we're bonded, which you know we are," I sighed. "Then my answer should be obvious Pluck it out of my thoughts."

I hid a smile as Howl's face screwed up in concentration. I concentrated on projecting acceptance, and love, though I knew most of what I sent his way would be lost in the mainstream of emotions. Barely ten seconds passed, before he pulled me to him, and kissed me, as stars whirled gently over our heads.


	19. Chapter 17

Part 17

Surprisingly, the next few months were fairly quiet. I was able to start putting together a spell that was a variant of Howls... at least, until I got caught, and chased away from mixing powders at the workbench. Considering that the last set I'd tried blew up with a mild huffing noise, I decided maybe it was better to try calculations from Howl's spell first, then try to mix things.

So I sat upstairs while Howl hovered, until I snarled quietly, doing figures. I hated figures, but to make a variation of the 'you can't touch' spell, I needed to. I took close to three weeks, before I got the proportions of the powders liquids, and blood that I'd need to make the 'only you touch' spell.

The basis of the spell was to protect the babies from being kidnapped or otherwise hurt when one of the mothers, fathers or soon to be honorary aunts and god-parents, wasn't around. By taking the drops of blood, and adding them to the spell, only the people who's blood was part of the spell could get anywhere near the bassinets that the babies would be in.

Fier and Cam helped as much as they could, but of the two, Fier was the one with a numbers head, and Cam simply started falling asleep when she got close to fractions and decimals. Come to think of it, I ended up letting Fier take care of most of the calculating. For some reason, she thought it was fun! Ick.

Howl explained various times, whenever I started to get bored with reading and writing, that my magic was unstable, and if I used it, either to heal, do my floating jump, or shield, I ran the risk of miscarrying. Not a pleasant thought... but I was slowly going nuts with boredom, because of lack of things that I was being allowed to do. Cam and Fier didn't complain, well, not much, but with these new restrictions, I was suddenly reduced to having practically nothing to do, and what little I could find to keep me busy often got swept out of my hands if it looked like I was exerting myself.

I growled, hating every minute of forced idleness, and eventually ended up stealing one of Howls' newer spell-books, one with plenty of blank pages, a bottle of ink, and an old quill, and turned it into a sketchbook, since I couldn't really do anything else.

Fall passed into winter, and almost at the beginning of the second trimester of the

pregnancy, the first snows began to fall. I went outside, escaping the arguing pair, Cam and Draco, and carefully down the porch stairs, to stand in the middle of the yard, and listened to the snow soak up all other noises. It wasn't too cold, I was wearing a sweater over another shirt, and thick pants over leggings. Winter boots and gloves covered my feet and hands, and I'd put a hat on my head.

Truthfully, I knew I shouldn't be outside, but witnessing the first snowfall on this war-torn land was something to breath in, and love. It meant that the land was healing herself. Only a few days before, I had put grass-seed that I'd found over the bomb holes, hoping that in the spring, there would be green grass and new memories to begin. Howl came out to find me, as the wind started to pick up, and brought me back inside, as the gentle snowfall became a chilling snowstorm.

In the middle of the third trimester, the last three months, the spell was finished. Everyone had given a little blood, except for Lamia who had agreed to be the test subject.

"At least, as long as it's not deadly," she had said. "I think you'd have a couple of

unhappy friends if I died."

Still, the bassinets had been finished by Frost and Draco a couple of days beforehand, and the inactive form of the spell, the powdered ingredients, were sprinkled over the small beds. Howl's voice filled with power, recited the spell I had created, and the powders began to glow, and sank into the wood, becoming part of the bassinets.

"Alright Lamia, try it now," he said.

The pale, older girl slowly walked towards the bassinet nearest her, and reached out one slim hand, as if to touch it. Her hand hit a barrier, as it closed around her, leaving just enough room for her to sit, or pace if she really wanted to. I clapped my hands, delighted that the spell had worked exactly as it was supposed to. Then, I took the phial that held the dried blood that Lamia had given, and dusted it over the four cradles. Immediately, the spell released her, and she nodded in approval.

Upstairs we described the success of the spell, and relief was obvious on all faces. Calcifer had, unfortunately, burned himself out almost a month earlier, and had fused with the house itself. There was no more cheerful fire demon to talk to or get advice from, but everything in the house would forever work. It hadn't been much of a trade in my mind, and I'd cried bitter tears when his flame had first gone out.

If Calcifer had been around, some of the problems we faced shortly after might never have happened, but I never blamed Cal. He'd worked himself to the... well, the bare bones of flames, trying to help us, and keep us all safe. Even now, there was the comforting warmth radiating from the walls, reminding us that our friend would always watch, even if we could really see him.

"So, what exactly is the spell supposed to do?" Frost asked, as I sipped some lemonade, and leaned against the couch.

"It's supposed to sense your strength, power, and ability to the utmost, and traps a person in an egg-shaped barrier, until one of us," I waved a hand around, indicating the whole 'family,' "can get to them, and decide whether they're worth the trouble of killing, or just deserve to be thrown out."

"Hopefully," Cam interjected, "we won't have to worry about testing it beyond this one trial. After all, there's really no problems to be dealt with, now is there?"

Famous. Last. Words...

And so, the fateful days approached. We celebrated my birthday, and Fier's which was two weeks after mine. It was just starting to feel like spring when things happened. Cam was the first to give birth, under the supervision of Luna, Flame, Lamia, and myself. Draco was unable to be chased away, so he stayed by Cam's side, and endured the cursing, and the pain of having a hand crushed by a woman giving birth.

When it was over, Cam was handed a tiny child, a little boy, whom she and Draco agreed to call Aiden. The name was inscribed on the oaken bassinet, and the child placed within. Half a week later, it was Fier's turn. She had a boy also, which she allowed Frost to name. He named the boy Cyrus, and Cyrus was inscribed on the ash-wood bassinet.

I was close to two weeks overdue, when I started getting my first birthing pains. I hadn't quite expected it to hurt as much as it did, but the reward was well worth the pain. Howl was the one who had to endure the yelps of pain, curses, and crushed hand, which made the others amused, as I lay on the bed, soaked with sweat, exhausted, but happy.

"So, what are you going to name these two fine young girls?" Luna asked, smiling, as she handed them to me.

"This one," I gently shifted the bundle in my right arm, and she opened her eyes, to reveal glass-green globes. "She's Ilandere. And the other..." I moved my other arm, and two more eyes popped open, bright flame blue, "this little squirt is Ilona."

"Big names for such small children," Lamia remarked quietly, as Howl gently smoothed Ilona's cheek. "Sure they'll be able to live up to them?"

I yawned, and closed my eyes slightly. I was slipping into slumber, from all the work of bringing new life into the world.

"Let's hope," I murmured softly, looking at the two girls in my arms, "that they will never have to..."

As I slipped into sleep, I felt Howl gently removed the two girls from my arms, and place them in their beds, which were made of Holly and Rowan wood, inlaid with each other. That was the end of it for a while, until I woke with the vaguest sense of unease.

I knew that Cyrus and Aiden had been taken to be with their parents, in separate rooms from the one I'd used to keep the twins in. My nervousness prodded me to throw a housecoat on over my light nightgown, and pad down the hall to my mothers old room, which I had cleaned up so that I could stay with the twins while they were still so young. I had fallen asleep on the couch, and I felt a bit sore, but this edginess refused to let me alone.

When I checked the time on the hanging hall clock, I saw that it was mid-afternoon, and the house was silent, which meant either everyone except us new mothers had gone out, or everyone was asleep.

Since Raven, Echo, Myst and River were obviously not in residence, I assumed that the others had gone out for some reason or another. Without Calcifer to monitor the door, anyone from anyplace could choose to come in, which is exactly what happened. Still so weak from the process of birthing, I sat down with a huff on my mothers old bed, and sighed very quietly, gazing at the two sleeping babies with a fond eye.

The door slid open, and two people walked right in, and stopped when they saw me sitting there. I had stood up, bracing myself on my staff, which I'd brought with me out of cautions sake, and I was grateful that I had, for the pair was none-other than Raymond and Alicia! Both of them looked me up and down, Raymond getting a cruel glint in his eyes, and Alicia getting a smug one. I moved slightly until I was positioned between them and my daughters.

"What do you two want?" I asked, voice cold. "Isn't it obvious that you are not liked or well received around here?"

"Well, I've never been one to give up on a conquest, especially when the girl's such a bombshell like yourself," Raymond said smoothly, possessiveness glittering in his eyes. "Besides, I'm more than a match for that dumb boy-toy of yours. I've already proved that."

"You've also proved yourself to be cowardly, and snake-like," I retorted, temper flaring. "And I've told you before that I have no interest in becoming your anything. I'm already with Howl."

"No, you're not," Alicia replied, trying to be smug. "He's come to me a dozen or so times, pleading for release. I guess you're still too immature to know how to properly use a man."

She licked her lips, and ran her hand down her curvaceous body. Where once that would have caused a burning jealousy, I know felt nothing but contempt. I examined my nails, flashing my ring in her direction.

"If that's so," I said in a bored tone," then why do I wear the ring, and have the children while you have nothing?"

The reaction was most pleasing. Both of their jaws dropped in astonishment, and I

couldn't help but give a slightly triumphant smile.

"Seems to me, that Howl's already made his choice, and you had no part in it," I smiled dangerously. "Now, leave before I get angry."

After closing their mouths, they both seemed to be furious, and fighting with themselves. Neither were good losers, and I hoped they'd buy my bluff. No such luck. Alicia pulled out a long knife, and brandished it threateningly. I held up my staff in reply, carefully balanced, and knowing a fight was not an option. My panic and fear were starting to cloud my mind, when I remembered the link. I focused on it, projecting fear and a plea for help.

Even distracted, I managed to block the clumsy strikes from the girl, and it wasn't til Raymond joined in that I started getting pushed back towards the bassinets. A lucky hit knocked my staff out of my hands, and a slash from Alicia's knife sliced open both palms, sending blood coursing to the carpet. I yelped in surprise, and stumbled backwards, my bloody hands landing against the bassinets to keep me upright.

"I'll kill you," Alicia snarled. "And then your stupid babies too! You don't deserve Howl! He should love me!"

"He loves who he chooses to love!" I snapped back. A soft breeze began to rise, fluttering my hair, and behind me, the spells around the cradles began to glow. "You can't influence that!"

"You obviously did!" she shrieked, swiping at me with the blade again, while Raymond watched. "You're a witch aren't you! You probably brewed a love potion or.. Or something!"

Raymond seemed amused, despite the rising wind that was slowly pushing Alicia back. I was so tired, but my children were in danger. My home and my life. Whoever said a mother is the worlds most dangerous creature was a smart man. Raymond and Alicia? Not so smart. I was in front, and nothing they could do would move me. And it was about then that Howl, Frost, and Draco pounded up the stairs, followed by Luna with her glaive, Lamia with a pair of daggers, and Flame with her whip.

The wind died down as the three men stepped in front of me, protecting me, and Lamia coolly brought her daggers down onto Alicia. The girl screeched in pain, as Lamia calmly dragged her out of the room by her hair, trailing blood from the severed ear, I think is what it was. Raymond didn't get to be quite that lucky. Flame's whip had him around the throat, and Luna's Glaive was poised right at his belt-line, all ready to rip down and sever his family jewels.

Howl gently took my hands, and healed them, then wiped the blood form the cradles, and checked on the twins, who were just starting to fuss.

"Are you up to feeding them?" he asked softly, giving a head jerk to Flame and Luna, who started to drag Raymond away. "Because we do have those pre-made bottles..."

"I can do this," I whispered. "Besides, the bed's right here if I need it. And Howl?"

He'd turned to go, Frost and Draco had already left ahead of him. My smile was cold and deadly.

"Make them suffer."

He looked oddly at me, but seemed to recognize this particular brand of protectiveness, and shut the door behind him. I didn't hear screams, which to tell the truth would have unnerved me, but I knew that when Howl came back, and just held me, that they would never bother us again.

I held Ilandere, Howl cradled Ilona, and Raven, our adopted daughter, curled up between us, and looked at the twins in awe. We stayed like that for a very long time.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

And so, my story draws to a close. It's been almost seven years since those long ago days, and Slowly, with help from other refugee's that we found at other towns, this town, which we renamed New Hope, is slowly starting to rebuild. No one ever did find out the reason behind the bombings, but I know a select group is working on that.

Draco and Carmen moved out almost three months after the deaths of Raymond and Alicia, Fier and Frost following soon after. I missed my friends, but they were within walking distance, so I could see them when-ever I wanted. Luna stuck around, and to my surprise, hooked up with Flame. I never figured them to swing that way, but I rather admired them for being so open about it. Lamia? Well, she's the unofficial babysitter, but two years ago, she found herself a guy that everyone got along with, and now has her own child, A one year old girl she named after my mother, the highest honor and gift I've ever received.

Howl had helped with the rebuilding, using magic when magic was needed, but mostly it was through old-fashioned hard work. He's still my slim pain in the ass love, and there are times when we argue over this or that, but mostly, we're happy.

Our four seven-year-old birth children and our adopted children get along very well, though between River and Cam a type of teenager-y animosity developed when she was sixteen, and has only recently ended, because River moved in with her boyfriend, a young man named Wolf.

Don't ask me where the kid was named, but it does suit him. They suit each other,

reminding me a bit of Fier and Frost when they were still gooey over the idea of love and stuff like that.

Raven just turned thirteen this year, and she still adores the twins, who are totally different from each other, and the best of friends.

Ilandere inherited my blond hair, and Howl's mother's glass-green eyes. She likes her hair short, boyishly so, and prefers to run around in jeans rather than skirts. Ilona had Howl's black hair, and my fire blue orbs, with just a touch of purple, and adored feminine things. She was quieter, and Howl often joked that I switched the names around, because they certainly didn't match their personalities.

It's true, I'd given them names of the moon, Ilandere, and the sun, Ilona, but I'd had no idea about how they'd turn out. I enjoyed them anyways, and often find time to teach them my type of magic, and play games with them.

Aiden and Cyrus have both grown up to be ferociously loud little boys, but they know better than to misbehave, with all of us around.

Even now, I can see the face of my mother, as she said farewell to me in that between worlds place, but it holds no pain for me now. After all, I've lived my life, and will continue to live it as long as I can, with the friends family, and man that I love.

Now if only we could find some way to resurrect Calcifer... Hmm... There might be something in one of Howls books...

-The End-


End file.
